Baeolidia salaamica (Rudman, 1982)

Location: Seraya, Tulamben, Pulau Bali, Indonesia
Date: 2008/02/10
Length: 15mm
Depth: 18.0m
Water temperature: 27.0℃

Description

Body broad and elongate. Oral tentacles long, tapering to a rounded point. Rhinophores about two-thirds the length of the oral tentacles, with rounded papillae on the posterior side and sparsely spaced lateral papillae but none anteriorly. Anterior foot corners angular, with the leading edge split into upper and lower lamellae. Cerata long, cylindrical, slightly flattened dorsoventrally — distinct from the flattened, leaf-like cerata of Baeolidia major and Baeolidia australis. Cerata arranged in a single pre-pericardial arch, plus a post-pericardial arch and 4-5 sloping single rows. Body and foot translucent whitish; the body has a pale orange-yellow tinge from the internal organs, with the orange of the buccal bulb showing through below the rhinophores. Pigmented white head patches and a diamond mark behind the rhinophores. Rhinophores pale orange basally, white in the upper third. Cerata translucent with whitish patches outside, often with an orange tinge near the cnidosac; the digestive gland inside is greyish-green to dark brown. Body length 9-20 mm alive.

Distribution

Type locality is North Reef at the entrance to Dar es Salaam Harbour, Tanzania (July 1974, on wooden piles supporting a sewer pipe). The original description (Rudman, 1982) is based on five years of records from the single Dar es Salaam locality. Subsequent records extend to Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Japan, and Hawaii, although molecular confirmation is desirable.

Etymology

The specific epithet salaamica refers to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where the specimens were collected (verbatim from the original description).

Remarks

Originally described as Spurilla salaamica and later transferred to Baeolidia (Spurilla salaamica and Berghia salaamica are synonyms). Resembles Spurilla chromosoma (California and western Mexico) in colour but is distinguished by the long oral tentacles, semi-cylindrical cerata, and details of the oral tube, paired oral glands, ovate jaw plates, and denticulate radular cutting edge. Importantly, this is a non-zooxanthellate species, included in Rudman's 1982 paper as a contrast to the symbiont-bearing relatives.