Plocamopherus ceylonicus (Kelaart, 1858)
- Location
- Pura segara, Tulamben, Pulau Bali, Indonesia
- Date
- 2014/01/16
- Length
- 15mm
- Depth
- ??m
- Water temperature
- 29.7℃
Description
A small polycerid-like dorid reaching about 20–25 mm in length. Body translucent yellowish white, the dorsum overlaid with irregular brown markings together with small yellow flecks. The mantle margin carries a row of small white papillae. The anterior oral veil bears branched dendritic processes. Two pairs of luminescent globular structures occur along the sides; usually white but pink-tinged forms are known. Rhinophores and gills match the body ground colour and bear brown speckling.Distribution
Indian Ocean, western and central Pacific. Records include Tanzania, Sri Lanka, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Japan, the Marshall Islands and Hawaii. The type locality is Trincomalee, Ceylon (Sri Lanka).Etymology
The specific epithet ceylonicus refers to the type locality, Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka). In the original description the species was tentatively placed in the feminine genus Polycera, where the epithet appeared in feminine form (zeylanica); the transfer to the masculine genus Plocamopherus required its emendation to ceylonicus.Remarks
Plocamopherus is one of the very few sea slug genera with intrinsic bioluminescence, sharing this character with the closely related Kaloplocamus. Luminous tissue is concentrated at the apices of the lateral appendages, and light is produced by an extracellular chemical reaction triggered only when the animal is disturbed. The species is reported in Japanese under several common names, including ヒカリウミウシ, ニンジンヒカリウミウシ, and ベッコウヒカリウミウシ.References
- Polycera (?) zeylanica, Kelaart E.F. (1858). Description of new and little-known species of Ceylon nudibranchiate molluscs and zoophytes. Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. 3(9): 84-139.
- ヒカリウミウシ, 小野篤司. (1999). ウミウシガイドブック. TBSブリタニカ.
- ニンジンヒカリウミウシ, 中野理枝. (2004). 本州のウミウシ. ラトルズ.
- ヒカリウミウシ, 小野篤司. (2004). 沖縄のウミウシ. ラトルズ.
- Plocamopherus cf. imperialis, Vallès Y. & Gosliner T.M. 2006. Shedding light onto the genera (Mollusca: Nudibranchia) Kaloplocamus and Plocamopherus with description of new species belonging to these unique bioluminescent dorids . The Veliger 48(3): 178-205
- ベッコウヒカリウミウシ, 中野理枝. (2018). 日本のウミウシ. 文一総合出版.
- Plocamopherus ceylonicus, Terrence Gosliner, Ángel Valdés and David Behrens. (2018). Nudibranch and Sea Slug Identification Indo-Pacific 2nd Edition. New World Pubns Inc.
- プロカモフェルス・ケイロニクス, 小野篤司 & 加藤昌一. (2020). 新版 ウミウシ. 誠文堂新光社.
Featured in this book
Terrence Gosliner, Ángel Valdés and David Behrens. (2018). Nudibranch and Sea Slug Identification Indo-Pacific 2nd Edition. New World Pubns Inc.
New World Publications
This species, Plocamopherus ceylonicus, is included in the book.
View on Amazon PR (Amazon Associates)Seasonality
Shooting Locations
Loading shooting locations...
Photos of Plocamopherus ceylonicus
Same Genus Nudibranchs
Similar Colors Nudibranchs
Academic Database
Sea slug observation data is available in international marine biodiversity databases.