Tambja haidari is only known from the type locality in Senegal, a country in west Africa. It is the first species of the genus described from Senegal. This species has dark blue ground color with yellow bands and sky-blue spots, which become real tubercles along the tail. The internal features are typical of species of the genus, with rachidian teeth that lack denticles and with a prostate slightly differentiated from the rest of the vas deferens.

A species from the eastern Pacific, which shares some features with T. haidari, is T. eliora (Marcus & Marcus, 1967). Tambja eliora also has the same head morphology. The color pattern of T. eliora slightly resembles T. haidari and T. ceutae, but it lacks tubercles on the body. The lateral teeth also have simple inner cusps.

Marta Pola and company named the species after Mr. Haidar El Ali, a fervent ecologist who is making a significant contribution to the Senegalese environment.

References:

Pola, Cervera and Gosliner 2006. Description of two new phanerobranch nembrothid species (Nudibranchia: Polyceridae: Doridacea). Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. 86: 403-409

Marcus, Er. & Marcus, Ev. 1967. American opisthobranch mollusks. Part II, opisthobranchs from the Gulf of California. Studies in Tropical Oceanography, University of Miami, 6(2): 141-256.

Marina-PODDUBETSKAIA-OSSOKINE is much more than an very accomplished underwater photographer, she is actively involved in the taxonomy science of our friends the sea slugs! Without the kind assistance of Marina and Marta Pola, this BOW would never have been possible. To see more of Marina's images,please go to Marina's Photographs .

Thank you very much Ladies!!!

Send Marina email at nembro@yahoo.fr

Send Marta email at mpolaperez@gmail.com