Discodoris pardalis (Alder & Hancock, 1864)

Description

Body oval and somewhat flattened, with the dorsum covered in fine velvety tubercles. Ground color ranges from pale orange-brown to yellowish brown, overlaid with a reticulate network of irregular dark brown blotches that gives the species its leopard-like appearance. The rhinophores and gills retract into pockets bearing the same color pattern as the surrounding mantle.

Distribution

Type locality is the Bay of Bengal coast of India, based on specimens collected by Walter Elliot. In Japan, the species was first reported by Baba and Hamatani 1952 from Seto and Kada (Kii Peninsula, Wakayama) and has since been recorded sporadically along central and southern Honshu.

Etymology

The specific epithet pardalis is Greek for "leopard" or "panther," used in Latin as a metaphor for spotted patterns. It refers to the leopard-like dorsal markings of the species.

Remarks

The species was originally described by Alder and Hancock 1864 from India as Doris pardalis and later transferred to Discodoris.
WoRMS currently treats the name as a nomen dubium: the original figures and description are too fragmentary to confirm whether the populations attributed to this species across the Indo-Pacific represent a single species or several. Specimens currently aggregated under this page on seaslug.world likewise require careful comparison with Thordisa sp. 9, Geitodoris lutea, and Geitodoris sp. 1.

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References

• アミメツヅレウミウシ（新稱）, 馬場菊太郎 & 濱谷巌. (1952). 紀州産後鰓類目録. 南紀生物. Supplement 1: 1-11.
• アミメツヅレウミウシ, 生物學御研究所編. (1955). 相模湾産後鰓類図譜〈補遺〉. 岩波書店.
• 高岡生物研究会. (2002). 日本海のウミウシ. 第2版.