Chromodoris tennentana (Kelaart, 1859)

Yonow, Nathalie, Anderson, R. Charles & Buttress, Susan G., 2002, Opisthobranch molluscs from the Chagos Archipelago, Central Indian Ocean, Journal of Natural History 36 (7), pp. 831-882 : 854

Chromodoris tennentana (Kelaart, 1859)

(®gure 13a)

Chromodoris tennentana (Kelaart) : Rudman, 1987: 364, ®gures 23, 32, 35, 36.

Material. Chag96/61: 18 3 4 mm; coral bommie east of Ile Poule, Peros Banhos Atoll; 25 February 1996; at 7 m depth.

Description. Mantle with irregular purple margin and broad cream submarginal band which contained raised orange patches. Central area of notum brown with numerous black spots, each ocellated with white. Rhinophore clubs brown with white tips; stalks translucent. Gills grey and white.

The preserved specimen is soft and well relaxed. It is translucent white and the dark gut is clearly visible through the body wall. The orange pigment spots around the mantle edge remain as patches and the mantle glands are extremely clear as evenly distributed groups around the edge, just in from the margin; they are absent in front of the rhinophores.

Geographic distribution. Western Indian Ocean: recorded from Tanzania and Sri Lanka as C. cavae Eliot and C. vicina Eliot ; this record from Chagos is a new locality. It is not uncommon in the Seychelles (photographs of several individuals and one specimen 83 5 mm alive; coll. P. Kemp, 1992).

Remarks. Chromodoris tennentana is a large species, growing to more than 60 mm in length (preserved measurement, Eliot, 1904a). The orange spots in the white submarginal band of our specimen are slightly raised; this had not been noted in previous descriptions.