Dendrodoris gutatta
Dendrodoris gutatta Odhner, 1917
Dendrodoris guttata was described by Odhner in 1917 from Cape Jaubert, Western Australia Since then it was recorded from Japan by Baba (1949) and is depicted in Neville Coleman's Nudibranchs of the South Pacific. Its discovery from the Philippines represents an important additional record of this uncommonly encountered species. A beautiful rusty-gold porostome, it is without question one of the most dramatically colored Dendrodorids in the tropical Indo-Pacific. Its smooth notal surface is covered with large brown to black spots, each with a pale halo surrounding it. The margin of the mantle is thin and undulated or ruffled. The gills and rhinophores are tipped with brown. It has been observed intertidally to 20 m deep, and measures to 60mm in length.
D. guttata is a real keen find for the underwater shutter bug.
Kudos go out to Roger Steene of Australia for making this presentation possible by finding the sole specimen recorded during our recent trip to the Philippines!
Text courtesy of:
California Academy of Sciences Send Terry mail at tgosliner@Calacademy.org |
