This species has been observed on Mayotte and Madagascar Islands
Order :
Cephalaspidea
Superfamily : Philinoidea
Family :
Aglajidae
Distribution :
Tropical Indo-West Pacific
Maximal size : 70 mm
Abundance : (May) Frequently on the fore reef zone
and on the fore reef zone
Species characteristics :
A pale white species with bright yellow parapodial, cephalic and mantle edge
Like all species of Chelidonura it has the left tail (caudal lobe) longer than the one on the right. |
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Photo Philibert Bidgrain
"mtsanga chéhi" at Mayotte, on the reef crest,
2 m, 12 July 2008, size 20-25 mm
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See more about : Sightening and mating periods
Remarks :
 Identification confirmed by Nathalie Yonow
Synonymous : (according Worms)
- No other name
Bibliographic data :
Like all species of Chelidonura it has the left tail (caudal lobe) longer than the one on the right. The flaps araising from the sides of the foot (parapodia) are large and meet on the dorsal midline
This brilliantly coloured species is often found crawling over coral colonies.
It feeds primarily on tiny acoel flatworms
It most similar to C. pallida but that species has a narrow black line outside the yellow one.
References :
Bill Rudman Seaslug site : Sea Slug Forum : Chelidonura electra
Nudipixel Chelidonura electra
Publications :
Rudman, W.B., 1970. Chelidonura inornata Baba and C. electra sp.nov. from the Solomon Islands (Opisthobranchia, Aglajidae). Journal of the Malacological Society of Australia, 2 : 7-12.
Yonow N. (2012) Opisthobranchs from the western Indian Ocean, with descriptions of two new species and ten new records (Mollusca, Gastropoda). ZooKeys 197: 1–129. [22 May 2012]
Zamora-Silva A. & Malaquias M.A.E. (2017). Molecular phylogeny of the Aglajidae head-shield sea slugs (Heterobranchia: Cephalaspidea): new evolutionary lineages revealed and proposal of a new classification. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society
Other photos of Chelidonura electra :
Norbert Verneau
Dzaoudzi lagoon, Mayotte, 2m, isolated coral colony on sandy substrate, 11 July 2008. size 15 mm. |
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Sylvain Le Bris
Mayotte, Jardin japonais, 20 m, 2 December 2008
Crawling on a orange sponge... |
Philibert Bidgrain
Mayotte, Chissioua Karoni, 3m, 25 May 2012, size : 25-30 mm
A small population with a lot of spawn and mating events. |
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More photos from Indian Ocean
Mayotte, Chelidonura electra on a orange sponge, by Sylvain Le Bris
Mayotte, two Chelidonura electra, at Passe en S, by Matthias Deuss
Madagascar, two Chelidonura electra, at Nosy Bé, by Alain-Benoît Rassat
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