Carminodoris flammea (Fahey & Gosliner, 2003)

Description

A small to medium dorid nudibranch with an oval, flat body densely covered by large, rounded tubercles on the notum. Type specimens range from 10 to 24 mm in preserved length. Ground colour is a light to medium reddish-mottled brown or tan; the central tubercles of the dorsum are bright red and ringed with white, while the mantle edge bears evenly spaced patches of reddish-brown tubercles. Rhinophores are close-set and tall, each with about 16 lamellae; the stalk is light tan with a brown band on the upper third and a white tip. The six tripinnate gill leaves are feathery, light grey with light tan tips. The rhinophore and gill sheaths have raised, irregular margins bearing small rounded tubercles. The foot is anteriorly notched and the oral tentacles are digitiform.

Distribution

Type locality: Tulamben, Bali, Indonesia. At the time of description (Fahey & Gosliner 2003) only four specimens from the type locality were known, and the species was reported as "found only in Bali, Indonesia". Subsequent records (Gosliner et al. 2015) have extended the distribution across the tropical Indo-West Pacific.

Etymology

From Latin flammea (= fiery red), referring to the colour of the central dorsum.

Remarks

Externally most similar to Carminodoris bifurcata, but separated by (1) the central dorsum being bright red rather than reddish-brown, and (2) the absence of the small black notal spots that are present in C. bifurcata. Rhinophore and gill colour and shape are otherwise similar between the two species.

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References

• Hoplodoris flammea sp. nov., Fahey S.J. & Gosliner T.M. (2003). Mistaken identities: on the Discodorididae genera Hoplodoris Bergh, 1880 and Carminodoris Bergh, 1889 (Opisthobranchia, Nudibranchia). Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, Series 4. 54(10): 169-208.
• Carminodoris flammea, Terrence Gosliner, Ángel Valdés and David Behrens. (2015). Nudibranch and Sea Slug Identification Indo-Pacific. New World Pubns Inc.
• ニヨリセンリョウウミウシ（新称）, 中野理枝. (2018). 日本のウミウシ. 文一総合出版.