Hypselodoris infucata (Rüppell & Leuckart, 1830)
- Location
- Seraya, Tulamben, Pulau Bali, Indonesia
- Date
- 2016/03/05
- Length
- 30mm
- Depth
- 18.0m
- Water temperature
- 28.0℃
Description
A chromodorid reaching about 50 mm in length. Ground colour is a deep dark blue to dark purple, overlaid with scattered yellow and black spots. The colour pattern is characteristic of Mediterranean and Red Sea populations and varies relatively little among them.The rhinophores are red and lamellate. The gill consists of 6-10 simply pinnate plumes, white with red rachides, arranged in a circle on the posterior dorsum.
Distribution
Centred on the Mediterranean and Red Sea, with extension into the eastern Atlantic and Indian Ocean. Western Pacific specimens previously identified as Hypselodoris infucata have, since Wilson & Lee 2005 and subsequent molecular analyses, been recognised as belonging to Hypselodoris obscura; the confirmed range of H. infucata is therefore largely confined to the Mediterranean and Red Sea region. It inhabits coral and rocky reefs.Etymology
The specific epithet infucata is the feminine of Latin infucatus ("dyed, painted"), in reference to the species' vivid colouration.Remarks
Originally described by Rüppell & Leuckart 1831 as Doris infucata from Red-Sea material; the parentheses in the current author citation reflect the transfer to Hypselodoris. The species is sponge-feeding, with the lavender sponge Dysidea sp. its main prey. "Shimofuri-iro-umiushi" is treated as a junior synonym.References
- Hypselodoris infucata (genus Hypselodoris), Stimpson W. (1855). Descriptions of some new marine Invertebrata. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 7(10): 385-394.
- Hypselodoris infucata (Ruppell & Leuckart, 1828), 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
- ホシゾラウミウシ（仮称）, 益田一. (1999). 海洋生物ガイドブック. 東海大学出版会.
- ホシゾラウミウシ, 鈴木敬宇. (2000). ウミウシガイドブック〈2〉. TBSブリタニカ.
- シモフリイロウミウシ, 奥谷喬司. (2000). 日本近海産貝類図鑑. 東海大学出版会.
- ヒプセロドリス・インフカタ, 殿塚孝昌. (2003). ウミウシガイドブック〈3〉. TBSブリタニカ.
- ホシゾラウミウシ, 小野篤司. (2004). 沖縄のウミウシ. ラトルズ.
- Hypselodoris infucata, 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.
A Kindle field guide by the site author
Kimoto N. (2026). Sea Slugs of Japan & the Indo-Pacific, 2nd Edition.
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Tag:
Same Genus Nudibranchs
Similar Colors Nudibranchs
Academic Database
Sea slug observation data is available in international marine biodiversity databases.