Chromodoris boucheti Rudman, 1982

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 : 26

Chromodoris boucheti Rudman, 1982 Plate 36

Chromodoris boucheti Rudman, 1982: 190, figs. 1B, 4, 5 (Mayotte); Yonow 1994a: 110, figs. 10A, 11B-E, J (Maldives): Debelius and Kuiter 2007: 176 (Maldives, Kenya, South Africa).

Chromodoris sp. - Yonow 1994a, 111, figs. 10B, 11A, F-I (Maldives).

Material.

Maldives: 30 mm, Bathala Island, Ari Atoll, 28 July 1995, 10 m depth, leg. RC Anderson & SG Buttress ("colour duller and darker than usual"); photographs of several individuals incl. one 5 mm juvenile, March 1997, March 1998, March 1999, J Hinterkircher. - Tanzania: photo of one individual, Mafia Island, shallow water, May 2009, A de Villiers.

Description/Distribution.

Pale blue body with three black lines, black sub-marginal line forming a ring, paler blue to white margin; white and orange rhinophores and six gills with distinctive black marks at base on both sides. There may be a general orange wash dorsally. Recent published records of Chromodoris boucheti are only from the Maldive Islands and Mayotte: Chromodoris boucheti was not found in the Chagos archipelago despite similar sampling techniques, nor has it been recorded from Mauritius, and there is only one record from La Réunion (http://seaslugs.free.fr/nudibranche/a_intro.htm). However, photographs on websites show individuals from Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa, and this extended distribution is supported by a photograph from Mafia Island, Tanzania (A de Villiers, pers. comm.).