Hypselodoris kanga
Rudman, 1977
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Below is comment from Dr. Bill Rudman, go to Sea Slug Forum to read more information
Dear Erwin,
I am afraid it is neither of those species. It does belong to this group of similarly colored species, but H. obscura is only found in south- eastern Australia, which counts it out, and the wide-spread H. infucata has simple gills
This is an 'all spotted' form of Hypselodoris kanga [see message #8722]. I have discussed the difference between it and H. infucata in an earlier message [#14188]. Sometimes H. kanga can have dark blue diagonal lines on the mantle while at other times it can have dark blue spots. Its most distinguishing feature is the shape and colour of the gills, which are triangular in cross-section, and have a series of yellow (or cream) spots on the smooth outside face of each gill. The three edges of each gill are lined with blue (basally) and red (apically) although in different animals one or the other of these colours can dominate.
In your photo, the swollen oral tube can be seen protruding from the mouth, a sure sign that it is feeding. Unfortunately I can't see any sign of its sponge food, but I guess it has found a small colony of Dysidea, the only sponge it is known to eat.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
| Location: | Bali, Indonesia |
| Photographer: | Erwin Kodiat |
| Camera: | Canon PowerShot A80 › View EXIF properties |
| Taken on: | November 20, 2005 |
| Viewed: | 821 times |
| Posted: | 1 year ago |
| Updated: | 10 months ago |
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Scientific Classification
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Subclass: | Opisthobranchia |
| Order: | Nudibranchia |
| Suborder: | Doridina |
| Family: | Chromodorididae |
| Species: | Hypselodoris kanga |