Dermatobranchus albineus Gosliner & Fahey, 2011

Description

Body 7–15 mm long, broad, flattened, narrowing posteriorly. The wide foot projects beyond the distinct mantle margin. The dorsum bears approximately 16 longitudinal ridges with three shorter ridges between them on each side towards the posterior. A distinct anvil-shaped oral veil extends well forward and laterally. The closely spaced rhinophores have longitudinal lamellae on the rounded club but no lamellae on the stalk.
Ground colour of the dorsum and oral veil is pinkish to greyish white. The dorsal ridges and the foot margin are opaque white. Rhinophores are creamy pale yellow with opaque white pigment on the vertical lamellae.

Distribution

Cold-temperate Atlantic and Indian Ocean coasts of South Africa from Cape Peninsula to Algoa Bay. Type locality: Hottentot Huisie, Atlantic coast, Cape Peninsula, Cape Province, South Africa.

Etymology

Verbatim from the original description (Gosliner & Fahey, 2011, p.287):

The specific name albineus is a noun in apposition from a Latin word for 'white' to describe the whitish coloration of this Dermatobranchus.

Remarks

Found in rocky shallow-water habitats around the Cape of Good Hope where it feeds on the soft coral Eleutherobia variabile.

---

References

• Dermatobranchus sp. 1, Gosliner T.M. (1987). Nudibranchs of Southern Africa: A Guide to Opisthobranch Molluscs of Southern Africa. Sea Challengers, Monterey, CA. 136 pp.
• Dermatobranchus albineus sp. nov., GOSLINER T.M. & FAHEY S.J. (2011). Previously undocumented diversity and abundance of cryptic species: a phylogenetic analysis of Indo-Pacific Arminidae Rafinesque, 1814 (Mollusca: Nudibranchia) with descriptions of 20 new species of Dermatobranchus. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 161(2): 245-356. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1096-3642.2010.00649.x