Phyllidiella meandrina (Pruvot-Fol, 1957)

Yonow, Nathalie, 2012, Opisthobranchs from the western Indian Ocean, with descriptions of two new species and ten new records (Mollusca, Gastropoda), ZooKeys 197, pp. 1-130 : 51-52

Phyllidiella meandrina (Pruvot-Fol, 1957) Fig. 21, Plate 67

Phyllidia (Phyllidiella) nobilis . - Eliot 1904: 282, pl. 16 fig. 1 (East Africa) (non Phyllidiella nobilis Bergh).

Phyllidia meandrina Pruvot-Fol, 1957: 113 (Mauritius).

Phyllidiella meandrina . - Yonow & Hayward 1991: 21, figs. 10E, 13B (Mauritius); Yonow et al. 2002: 863, fig. 16d (Chagos).

Phyllidia sp. 1. - Gosliner 1987: 90, fig. 153 (South Africa).

Material.

Socotra: 40 × 21 mm curled, pres. (St. 018, GR-23), Qualansiyah Bay 12°41.026'N, 53°28.309'E, 10 March 1999, leg. G Reinicke. - Kenya: three pres. specimens 26 × 15 mm (bent and curled), 17 × 11 mm, and 17 × 8 mm (slightly curled), Vipingo, 25 miles N of Mombasa, rock pool ELW, 23 September 1984, leg. J Hognerud; four pres. specimens curled and faded, approx. 15 mm, Kibirijini, intertidal pool, 27 August 1969/ nudibranch IXX, Turtle Bay, subtidal rock, 12 July 1969/nudibranch XXIII, Mida 30' rock, 25 July 1969/nudibranch XX, Turtle Bay, intertidal rock, July 1969, all leg. K Brander (TE Thompson coll. NHMUK acc. no. 2364). - Tanzania: photographs of two individuals, Mafia Island, shallow water, May 2009, A de Villiers; photographs of two individuals, M’Nazi Bay, Msimbati, near Mtwara, May 1994 and May 1995, IM Horsfall. - Zanzibar: photo of few individuals, MD Richmond and A de Villiers. - South Africa: two specimens (Natal Museum specimen ref. nos. S1773 and E4898 + photo slide ref. 0061). - Madagascar: 40 × 15 mm (PK-D2), Ampangorina, Nosy Komba, 1 m depth ("cruising over sand"), 30 January 1992, leg. P Kemp; 50 × 15 mm (PK-E), Ampangorina, Nosy Komba, 1 m depth ("on algal - encrusted stag horn coral"), 20 February 1992, leg. P Kemp. - Sri Lanka: 47 × 17 mm pres. (curled), via Tropical Marine Centre, London (fish importers), 14 August 1990. - Mauritius: photos of several individuals, M Parmantier, and La Réunion http://seaslugs.free.fr/nudibranche/a_intro.htm.

Description.

The Socotra specimen is an almost perfect replica of the type specimen, with two incomplete median circles of small tubercles. First lateral encircling band of tubercles composed of small tubercles followed by row of single isolated tubercles and narrow black line before pink margin; long black rhinophores (Fig. 21A). Large fused oral tentacles tinged with black in life; pigment still remains on Madagascar specimens 20 years later (Fig. 21B).

Remarks.

Although easily recognized, Phyllidiella meandrina is not a common species in the western Indian Ocean; it has not been recorded from the Maldives (contrary to my statement in Yonow et al. 2002: 864). Eliot’s (1904) species recorded as Phyllidiella nobilis from East Africa is here identified as Phyllidiella meandrina : his description and illustrations of the outer two to three rows of tubercles are typical of Phyllidiella meandrina .