Ceratosoma alleni
Ceratosoma alleni is named for Jerry Allen of Tucson, Arizona, who first discovered this species near Dakak Resort, Dapitan, northern Mindanao in March 1993. A second specimen was later collected by the Webmaster at Kirby's Rock in the Batangas area of southern Luzon. Thus far this species is only known from the Mindanao and Luzon Islands in the Philippines.
The external morphology of Ceratosoma alleni is unique among described species of Ceratosoma. It is the only species with prolonged lateral extensions of the notum which contain glandular arrays on the ventral surface. Ceratosoma alleni closely resembles an unidentified xeniid soft coral which has been found in the same habitat. This species may closely resemble the soft coral to elude visual predators.
Gosliner, T.M. 1996. Phylogeny of Ceratosoma (Nudibranchia: Chromodorididae), with Descriptions of Two New Species. Proc. Cal. Acad. Sci. 49(3):115-126.
The above information courtesy of:
California Academy of Sciences Send Terry mail at tgosliner@calacademy.org |
