Nudibranch Similarities
Hypselodoris kanga group
Author: Erwin Kodiat
To distinguish between Hypselodoris kanga and similar looking Hypselodoris infucata is by looking at the gills. If they are triangular in cross section, and edged in red (blue in other parts of the world) and with a row of yellow spots up the broad outer face, then it is Hypselodoris kanga. Otherwise it is Hypselodoris infucata
Hypselodoris maculosa group
Author: Erwin Kodiat
Hypselodoris maculosa has 2 orange rings on the rhinophores, white longitudinal lines, purple spots, and white speckles while Thorunna australis has ring of purple spots around the mantle margin.
Hypselodoris whitei group
Hypselodoris emmae: The body is a pale cream or yellow with a purple or bluish border to both the foot and the mantle. there are three purple longitudinal lines on the mantle and four brownish lines which vary in intensity in different individuals. The gills and rhinophores are a brilliant reddish orange and in Pacific specimens there is a white tip to the rhinophores.
Hypselodoris whitei has a whitish background color with a reddish purple submarginal line around the mantle edge and a series of five longitudinal lines covering the rest of the mantle. These lines are usually very crooked and joined by a series of lateral connections, breaking the mantle into rows of slightly raised whitish regions. The rhinophores are orange to orange-red with a distinctive white tip and the gills are similarly coloured with white on the inside and usually at the tip of each gill.
Hypselodoris maridadilus is yellow, with a purple border to the foot and the mantle, and a series of five longitudinal purple lines. the gills and rhinophores are bright orange-red.
The lines in Hypselodoris nigrostriata are more or less oblique. In the very similar species, Hypselodoris zephyra the lines are parallel.
