Murphydoris puncticulata Paz-Sedano, Smirnoff, Candás, Gosliner & Pola, 2022

マーフィドーリス・プンクティキュラータ Murphydoris puncticulata

Location: MINA point, Tulamben, Pulau Bali, Indonesia
Date: 2017/03/09
Length: 7mm
Depth: 10.0m
Water temperature: 28.0℃

Description

A small goniodoridid 2–7 mm in preserved length. The body is elongate and limaciform, with the foot acutely tapered posteriorly and slightly rounded anteriorly; the foot does not project beyond the sides of the notum. The notal margin is well developed but reduced, continuing posteriorly into a trilobate gill set at the same level as the anal opening.
The body is white with small dark brown spots scattered all over. A triangular band of densely concentrated brown spots lies on the anterior portion of the dorsum, just behind the rhinophores, and a transverse dark brown patch crosses the head between the rhinophores. A third horizontal band of concentrated spots lies behind the gills. The rhinophores, gill branches, and foot are all whitish translucent. Small papillae are scattered along the lateral sides of the body.

Distribution

Widely distributed in the western and central Pacific Ocean. Type locality: La Balsa Park, Mooloolah River, Queensland, Australia, 3–6 m depth. Records also include Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, the Philippines, the Hawaiian Islands, Japan (Shizuoka Prefecture and the Izu Islands), Indonesia (Bacan, Bali), and Australia (Queensland). The species is found under coral rubble on reefs from the intertidal down to about 10 m depth.

Etymology

The specific epithet puncticulata is a Latin diminutive of punctum ("dot" or "spot"), meaning "finely speckled", in reference to the small dark-brown spots scattered over the body.

Remarks

Among the white-bodied species of Murphydoris, this species is distinguished from M. cobbi and M. maracabranchia by the combination of widely scattered brown spots over the body, a triangular concentration of spots behind the rhinophores, a transverse head patch, and a third horizontal band behind the gill, together with small papillae along the lateral sides of the body. In M. cobbi the patch behind the rhinophores forms a continuous line, while M. maracabranchia has only a single line behind the rhinophores and lacks scattered body spots.