phyllodesmium tuberculatum with flattened cerata with white and grey pustules tubercles from indian ocean

Phyllodesmium cf tuberculatum Moore & Gosliner, 2009

This species has been observed on Mayotte Island

Order : Nudibranchia
Suborder : Aeolidina
Family : Glaucidae
Distribution : Philippines, and Mayotte(?)
Maximal size : 20 mm
Abundance :

Species characteristics :

The body of the living animal, including rhinophores, oral tentacles, cerata and foot are predominantly a bluish gray color
    Large, thick, and somewhat dorso-ventrally flattened cerata.
   The tubercles on the cerata appear with a concentration near the apices
    The anal papilla lies inside the second ceratal arch
    The rhinophores are smooth, with a somewhat wrinkled appearance

Showing species characteristics...

Photo Norbert Verneau
Mayotte, Petite Terre, Lagon des Badamiers, 1 m, 28 October 2007, size : 20 mm

See more about : Sightening and mating periods
See more about : Phyllodesmium phylogeny by Moore & Gosliner, 2009

Remarks :

Identification confirmed by Nathalie Yonow
We can't observed in our specimen all the caracteristics of this species, so for the moment we call it Phyllodesmium cf tuberculatum, we obviously need other photos to confirm this identification.

Bibliographic data :

The ceratal arrangement consists of arches and rows.
            - With arches (1, 2 and 3) consisting of two rows of cerata forming in the anterior ceratal groups and rows (4, 5 and 6) in the most posterior groups.
            - The precardiac cerata (1) are grouped into one arch on each side of the body containing approximately 15 cerata. On the arms of the precardiac arches there are double rows of cerata.
            - The genital aperture is located between the arms of the precardiac arch on the right side of the animal, and there are separate openings for the male and female genital systems.
            - The renal opening is situated between the precardiac arch and the first postcardiac arch on the right side.

        - The postcardiac cerata are grouped on both sides into arches containing approximately 13 cerata for the first two arches. These first two postcardiac arches (2 and 3) also contain double rows.
            - The anal papilla is located within the first postcardiac arch (2) on the right side.
            - The last three ceratal groups (4, 5 and 6) are curved rows containing 4, 3, and 3 cerata respectively.
    The rhinophores are smooth, with a somewhat wrinkled appearance and are conical in shape with blunt tips. The oral tentacles are also smooth and taper from the anterior edge of the head to bluntly pointed apices. They are approximately the same length as the rhinophores.
    The anterior portion of the foot margin is broad with moderately tentacular foot corners while the posterior end tapers to an elongate point
    The digestive gland visibly branches throughout the cerata, with visible secondary, and possibly tertiary, branches that extend to the surface of each cerata
    Zooxanthellae are present in great numbers in the digestive tissue of the largest cerata, but not in the small, laterally-located cerata. Zooxanthellae also appear to be located outside the digestive tissue near the surface of each ceras.
    The species is named after the rounded tubercles present on the cerata of these animals.
    This species is found on coral and rubble near its prey species, a soft coral in the genus Anthelia
    There are six species, P. crypticum, P. hyalinum, P. lizardensis , P. lembehensis ,P tuberculatum and P. koehleri with obvious nodules on the external portions of the cerata. But there are some differences...

	P. koehleri	P. hyalinum	P. crypticum	P. tuberculatum	P. lembehensis	P. lizardensis
Cerata shape	Spoon-like, flattened, broadening in upper half. Circular in cross section at the base	Slightly flattened	Quadrangular in cross section along the whole length	Large, thick, and somewhat dorso-ventrally flattened	Dorso-ventrally flattened with the basal half of each cerata ovate in cross-section	Dorso-ventrally flattened whereas circular in cross section at the base
Cerata tubercles	Covered with large spiny tubercles	Low often barely raised, conical tubercles Smooth at the base and only slightly nodulose in the apical part	Low often barely raised, conical tubercles They are mainly arranged in rows, especially along the edges	Notably spherical and highly raised They appear with a concentration near the apices	Tubercles that congregate predominantly on the margins of the upper part of the cerata, appearing almost like rounded serrations	Rounded pustules along each edge and a rounded ridge up the central midline. Smooth at the base
Anal papilla	Dorso-laterally of the second ceratal arch	Dorsally of the second ceratal row	Inside the second ceratal arch	Inside the second ceratal arch	Dorsally in the interhepatic space between the first and second ceratal arch	Inside the second ceratal arch
Foot anterior corner	Anterior foot corners angular	The anterior foot corners only form slightly rounded extensions	Developed into tentacular processes	Broad with moderately tentacular foot corners	The anterior foot corners only form slightly rounded extensions
Digestive gland	Secondary branches	Secondary branches	Primary primary	Secondary, and possibly tertiary, branches	Primary primary	Secondary branches

References :

Phyllodesmium sp. 2 Gosliner Behrens & Valdés, 2008: 385

Publications :

Moore E. & Gosliner T. (2009). Three new species of Phyllodesmium Ehrenberg (Gastropoda: Nudibranchia: Aeolidoidea), and a revised phylogenetic analysis. Zootaxa 2201: 30-48

Other photos of Phyllodesmium cf tuberculatum :

Photo Norbert Verneau

Mayotte, Petite Terre, Lagon de Badamiers, 1 m, 28 October 2007, size : 20 mm

The rhinophores are smooth, with a somewhat wrinkled appearance (a)

The tubercles (b) appear on the cerata with a concentration near the apices

P. tuberculatum is darker in color than P. hyalinum. So another argument for these identification...

Philibert Bidgrain

Mayotte, Petite Terre, déversoir de Dzaoudzi, less 1 m, 17 Jully 2013, size : 25 mm

More photos from Indian Ocean

See more about : Phyllodesmium phylogeny by Moore & Gosliner, 2009

If you have taken a photo of this species in Reunion, Mauritius or Mayotte Islands, please Contact us...

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