Phyllidiopsis annae Brunckhorst, 1993 - Phyllidiidae

Phyllidiopsis annae

Brunckhorst, 1993

Photographed by: Dave Peltier

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Opisthobranchia
Order:	Nudibranchia
Suborder:	Doridina
Family:	Phyllidiidae
Species:	Phyllidiopsis annae

Comment from Nathalie Yonow on photo #5228

This is not Phyllidiopsis xishaensis as this one has black rhinophores; I cannot see the dorsum to count the lines but it is probably Phyllidiopsis annae, which actually has identical black lines to Phyllidiopsis xishaensis! The main difference is the black rhinophores in Phyllidiopsis annae and ochre/beige in xishaensis. Additionally, Phyllidiopsis annae does appear more ‘blue’ in body colour. Distributions are very different; Phyllidiopsis annae is known only from Papua New Guinea in the Pacific and in the eastern Indian Ocean from the Thailand coast, so this is a nice record, confirming a Pacific distribution.

Comment from Nathalie Yonow on photo #2878

This is probably Phyllidiopsis annae due to the blue tinge to the body. The rhinophores in Phyllidiopsis annae are black but are not visible in this photo.

Comment from Richard Willan on photo #5173

This species is characterised by the black rhinophores and longitudinal black lines on a sky blue background. This individual is unusual in having a black bar connecting the longitudinal lines mid-dorsally.

Comment from Richard Willan on photo #1620

The rhinophores are always black in this species (in contrast to the other longitudinally-striped Phyllidiopsis species, in which the rhinophores are pale pink or cream), and it is also rather typical of this species for the outermost black lines to have some projections radiating towards the margin, exactly like these individuals here (especially well shown in the individual on the right).