Phyllidiella granulata Brunckhorst, 1993
- Location
- Nashiro, Okinawa Island (Chatan and Southern area), Okinawa, Japan
- Date
- 2016/06/03
- Length
- 30mm
- Depth
- 10.0m
- Water temperature
- 27.0℃
Description
A phyllidiid 11-40 mm long (mean 26 mm), oval in shape. The dorsum is granular grey (to pale grey), with three encircling, irregular black bands medially partitioning the pale background into two or three large patches. The black bands extend in front of the rhinophores and behind the anal opening. White notal tubercles arise from the pale background; they are conical and usually solitary. Median tubercles are tall and may be multicompound. The rhinophores are black, slightly recurved posteriorly and pointed apically, each clavus bearing 17-20 broad lamellae. Ventrally, the hyponotum is grey, the gills are dark grey, and the foot sole is pale grey with granular white dots. The oral tentacles are conical with pointed apices, white ventrally and black-tipped dorsally.Distribution
Tropical western Pacific Ocean (Micronesia to the Great Barrier Reef, Australia). Type locality: Bile Bay, Guam (7 m).Etymology
Verbatim from the original description (Brunckhorst, 1993, p.62):The specific epithet refers to the granular grey patches on the dorsum.From Latin granulatus ("granular"). Originally described as granulatus but emended to the feminine granulata to agree with the genus Phyllidiella.
Remarks
Described as a new species in the Brunckhorst 1993 revision of the Phyllidiidae Records of the Australian Museum, Supplement 16: 1-107. Distinguished by its grey granular dorsum, conical white compound tubercles, and three median black bands. The granular white-on-grey pattern is also visible on the foot sole. The bright orange digestive gland mass, presumably reflecting its sponge prey, persists as orange in the preserved state.References
- Phyllidiella granulatus n.sp., Brunckhorst D.J. (1993). The systematics and phylogeny of phyllidiid nudibranchs (Doridoidea). Records of the Australian Museum, Supplement 16: 1-107.
- ハイイロイボウミウシ, 小野篤司. (1999). ウミウシガイドブック. TBSブリタニカ.
- ハイイロイボウミウシ, 小野篤司. (2004). 沖縄のウミウシ. ラトルズ.
- ハイイロイボウミウシ, 中野理枝. (2004). 本州のウミウシ. ラトルズ.
A Kindle field guide by the site author
Kimoto N. (2026). Sea Slugs of Japan & the Indo-Pacific, 2nd Edition.
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Photos of Phyllidiella granulata
Tag:
Same Genus Nudibranchs
Similar Colors Nudibranchs
Academic Database
Sea slug observation data is available in international marine biodiversity databases.