Platydoris pulchra Eliot, 1904

Description

A large, flattened dorid with an oval mantle. Ground colour orange to reddish brown, with scattered dark dots and pale spots over the dorsum. Rhinophores and gill leaves are orange, matching the body colour. Like other Platydoris, the dorsum is leathery and firm, with a stout foot exposed ventrally.

Distribution

Western Indian Ocean. The type locality is Fumba, Zanzibar (Tanzania), where the type was collected from beneath rocks on a reef flat.

Etymology

The specific epithet pulchra is the Latin for "beautiful".

Remarks

Originally described in 1904 "On some nudibranchs from East Africa and Zanzibar" (Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond.). Platydoris incerta Eliot, 1904 is a synonym. The type material is reported as lost at the BMNH. The genus was revised by Dorgan, Valdés & Gosliner 2002.

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References

• Platydoris pulchra, Helmut Debelius, Rudie H. Kuiter. (2007). Nudibranchs of the World.