This species has been observed on Reunion and Madagascar Islands
Order :
Sacoglossa
Superfamily : Plakobranchoidea
Family : Plakobranchidae
Distribution :
Indo-West Pacific
Maximal size : 15 mm
Abundance : Seldom if ever on the reef flat zone
Species characteristics : Green body with a scattering of large and small opaque white spots. The large spots are on low papillae
The margin of the parapodia is cream to light yellow.
There is a Y-shaped opaque white mark on head that extends on to the base of the rhinophores. This white is followed by an area of green or orange and then a second patch of opaque white on the top of the rhinophore.
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Showing species characteristics... |
Photo Christophe Cadet
Reunion, "La saline lagoon", less 1 m , 24 December 2009, size : 11 mm
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See more about : Sightening and mating periods
See more about : Thuridilla phylogeny by Gosliner 1995
Remarks :
Identification confirmed by Terry Gosliner and Kathe Jensen
Synonymous : (according Worms)
- No other name
Bibliographic data :
In some specimens,
the tips of the rhinophores are ornamented with orange
Orange pigment is also present on the anterior margin of the foot
Some specimens lack the broad white/cream parapodial border noted in the original description.
The egg mass is an orange spiral and the ribbon has a variable number of irregular, orange pigment streaks on its upper surface.
Gosliner (1995) named the animal for Kathe Jensen, a prominent researcher of sacoglossans.
The row of raised white spots along each side of the parapodia are similar to Elysia sp1, but
- T. kathae has a Y-shaped opaque white mark on head that extends on to the base of the rhinophores and then a second patch of opaque white on the tip of the rhinophore
- The rhinophores are rolled like in Thuridilla and not grooved like in Elysia
References :
Bill Rudman Seaslug site : Sea Slug Forum : Thuridilla kathae
Publications :
Gosliner, T.M. (1995) The genus Thuridilla (Opisthobranchia: Elysiidae) from the tropical Indo-Pacific, with a revision of the phylogeny and systematics of the Elysiidae. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, 49(1) : 1-54.
Jensen, K.R. (2007). Biogeography of the Sacoglossa (Mollusca, Opisthobranchia). Bonner Zoologische Beiträge. 55: 255–281
Other photos of Thuridilla kathae :
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Alain-Benoît Rassat
Madagascar, Nosy bé, 19 October 2017
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Christophe Cadet
Reunion, "La saline lagoon", less 1 m , 24 December 2009, size : 11 mm
There is a Y-shaped opaque white mark (a) on head that extends on to the base of the rhinophores. This white is followed by an area of green/orange (b) and then a second patch of opaque white (c) on the top of the rhinophores.
This specimens lack (d) the broad white/cream parapodial border noted in the original description.
Green body with a scattering of large (e) and small (f) opaque white spots. The large spots are on low papillae |
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Christophe Cadet
Reunion, "La saline lagoon", less 1 m, 19 May 2010, size : 8 mm
Orange pigment is also present on the anterior margin of the foot
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More photos from Indian Ocean
See more about : Thuridilla phylogeny by Gosliner 1995
Reunion, Thuridilla kathae, at Etang salé, by Christophe Cadet
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