Aldisa fragaria Tibiriça, Pola & Cervera, 2017

Description

The body coloration is bright red to red-orange, with yellowish-white patches scattered across the mantle. Two large oval depressions are arranged along the mid-dorsal line, an important diagnostic character of the genus. Across the dorsum, rounded, prominent tubercles tipped in black are scattered, giving the surface the strawberry-like appearance from which the specific epithet is derived. The rhinophores and gills are also red, and animals are typically observed on red sponges or under rubble.

Distribution

The type locality is Zavora Bay, Inhambane Province, southern Mozambique. The original description records the species from the western Indian Ocean coast around the type locality. Additional records from the Philippines, Reunion Island, and Japan have been compiled here, but their identity remains to be confirmed in light of similar undescribed species in the genus.

Etymology

The specific epithet fragaria is derived from the Latin fragum, meaning "strawberry," in reference to the rounded, black-tipped tubercles densely scattered on the red mantle, which resemble the achene-dotted surface of a ripe strawberry.

Remarks

Long treated as an undescribed species, it was formally described in 2017 from Mozambican specimens together with Aldisa zavorensis. The two species differ in that Aldisa fragaria bears more rounded, prominently raised tubercles and lacks the serrated margins on the rhinophoral and branchial sheaths that characterize A. zavorensis. Some Japanese sources distinguish individuals without mid-dorsal craters as "イチゴジャムウミウシ" and those with craters as "ホンイチゴジャムウミウシ," but the original description treats the two depressions as a species character, suggesting intraspecific variation.

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References

• イチゴジャムウミウシ（仮称）, 小野篤司. (1999). ウミウシガイドブック. TBSブリタニカ.
• イチゴジャムウミウシ（新称）, 小野篤司. (2000). ウミウシガイドブック. 第2版. TBSブリタニカ.
• Aldisa sp. 5, Terrence Gosliner, Ángel Valdés and David Behrens. (2015). Nudibranch and Sea Slug Identification Indo-Pacific. New World Pubns Inc.
• イチゴジャムウミウシ, ホンイチゴジャムウミウシ（新称）, 中野理枝. (2018). 日本のウミウシ. 文一総合出版.
• Aldisa fragaria sp. nov., Tibiriçá Y., Pola M. & Cervera J.L. (2019). Two new species of the genus Aldisa Bergh, 1878 (Gastropoda, Heterobranchia, Nudibranchia) from southern Mozambique. Marine Biodiversity. 49(1): 43-56. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-017-0752-x
• イチゴジャムウミウシ, 小野篤司 & 加藤昌一. (2020). 新版 ウミウシ. 誠文堂新光社.