Hypselodoris bennetti (Angas, 1864)

Description

A medium-sized chromodorid reaching about 35 mm in body length and 10 mm in width. The body is rather thick and posteriorly pointed; the ground colour is a beautiful azure blue with irregular rose-violet spots scattered throughout. The mantle is broadly rounded anteriorly and bordered by an orange band along the outer edge. The rose-coloured spots are particularly dense along the central part and the margin of the mantle. The rhinophores and gills are rose-violet; the gills are numerous, separate and pinnate. Angas's type was 35 mm long and 10 mm wide.

Distribution

South-eastern Australia (Tasman Sea). Type locality: Port-Jackson (Sydney Harbour), New South Wales, Australia, where Angas collected numerous specimens under stones at low water during the southern summer (December–February). Angas noted that the species occurred commonly both inside and outside the harbour.

Etymology

Named in honour of Dr George Bennett (1804–1893), the eminent Sydney-based naturalist. Angas wrote: "I have the pleasure of dedicating it to my friend Dr George Bennett of Sydney, whose name is so intimately attached to the natural history of Australia."

Remarks

Originally placed by Angas in Goniodoris Forbes, 1840 — a genus characterised by a narrow mantle with a posteriorly pointed body. Later transferred to Hypselodoris; the parentheses in the author citation reflect this generic transfer.

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References

• Goniodoris bennetti Angas n. sp., Angas G.F. (1864). Description d'espèces nouvelles appartenant à plusieurs genres de Mollusques Nudibranches des environs de Port-Jackson (Nouvelle-Galles du Sud), accompagnée de dessins faits d'après nature. Journal de Conchyliologie, 12(1): 43-70, pl. IV.
• Glossodoris bennetti (Angas), Allan J.K. (1947). Nudibranchia from the Clarence River Heads, north coast, New South Wales. Records of the Australian Museum, 21(8): 433-463, pls. xli-xliii and map. https://doi.org/10.3853/j.0067-1975.21.1947.561
• Hypselodoris bennetti (Angas, 1864), Gosliner T.M. & Johnson R.F. (1999). Phylogeny of Hypselodoris (Nudibranchia: Chromodorididae) with a review of the monophyletic clade of Indo-Pacific species, including descriptions of twelve new species. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 125: 1-114. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1096-3642.1999.tb00585.x
• Hypselodoris bennetti, Johnson R.F. & Gosliner T.M. (2012). Traditional taxonomic groupings mask evolutionary history: a molecular phylogeny and new classification of the chromodorid nudibranchs. PLoS ONE 7(4): e33479.