Verconia decussata (Risbec, 1928)

Description

Ground colour white to pale pink. The mantle is laterally expanded at mid-body, giving a cross-shaped outline at rest, although this shape is lost when the animal extends in motion. Rhinophore stalks translucent white, clubs red with white speckling. Gill white with red inner margins on the leaflets. Reaches 12 mm.

Distribution

New Caledonia (type locality), Madagascar, Australia, Japan, Marshall Islands, and elsewhere in the tropical Indo-West Pacific.

Etymology

Latin decussata, "crossed in the form of an X / cross-shaped."

Remarks

Originally described as Noumea decussata Risbec, 1928 (Faune des Colonies Françaises 2(1): 165). Because Noumea Risbec, 1928 is a junior homonym of Noumea Fauvel, 1874 (Polychaeta), the genus is now treated under Verconia Pruvot-Fol, 1931.

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References

• Noumea decussata, Risbec J. (1928). Contribution à l'étude des nudibranches néo-calédoniens. Faune des Colonies françaises, Tome II: 1-328, 12 pls. (Société d'Éditions géographiques, maritimes et coloniales, Paris). [doctoral thesis monograph]
• Verconia decussata, 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.
• Verconia decussata, Terrence Gosliner, Ángel Valdés and David Behrens. (2015). Nudibranch and Sea Slug Identification Indo-Pacific. New World Pubns Inc.
• クロスウサギウミウシ, 中野理枝. (2018). 日本のウミウシ. 文一総合出版.