Author: Undescribed

Order: Nudibranchia  Family: Discodorididae

Maximum Size: 16 mm

Sightings: Sunshine Coast

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Discodorid sp. 02 Undescribed

This species of Discodorididae is oval in shape and low in profile, 16 mm in length. The mantle is broad, overhanging the body and foot completely, all round, by the width of the foot.

The mantle is yellow in colour with a tight reticulated pattern, the infills being translucent yellow. The reticulation is particularly noticeable in the ventral view. There are numerous very small red spots scattered over the dorsum but mostly in the mid-dorsal region between the rhinophores and gills. There are several small red patches on the dorsum, arranged in no particular pattern. These are created by a denser concentration of those red spots with several of those having an intense red spot in their centre. The gill pocket is also surrounded by this denser concentration. Random small white spots are also present on the mantle however these are mainly located outside of the aforementioned red-spotted region. The mantle margin carries no distinctive bands or spots of contrasting colour except for an occasional, random spot similar to those mid-dorsum.

The ventral surface of the foot is yellow without any other adornment. The oral tentacles are long, finger-like, well separated and yellow in colour.

The rhinophores have translucent yellow stalks with the clubs bearing red lamellae slightly speckled in white and with white apices. The rims of the rhinophore pockets carry a number of small white swellings. The gills are located three-quarters back along the mantle, being of sparse appearance and stick-like when expanded. These “sticks” are translucent yellow with a line of white pigment along their axis. The gill pocket presents as a transverse slit, the edges of which are raised with a lumpy appearance, red in colour with some white pigment.

Located on the underside of an old coral plate in 17 m of water.

The name Discodorid has been chosen as a temporary measure due to the external features being inconclusive in determining the genus for taxonomic placement.

David A. Mullins – September, 2021

References:
– Gosliner, T. M., Valdés, Á. & Behrens, D. W. (2018). Nudibranch and Sea Slug Identification: Indo-Pacific – 2nd Ed. New World Publications, Jacksonville, Florida.