Phestilla melanobrachia Bergh, 1874

Mehrotra, Rahul, A. Caballer Gutierrez, Manuel, M. Scott, Chad, Arnold, Spencer, Monchanin, Coline, Viyakarn, Voranop & Chavanich, Suchana, 2021, An updated inventory of sea slugs from Koh Tao, Thailand, with notes on their ecology and a dramatic biodiversity increase for Thai waters, ZooKeys 1042, pp. 73-188 : 73

Phestilla melanobrachia Bergh, 1874 Figure 21B

Material examined.

Two specimens 15-30 mm, SI.

Ecology.

Exclusively on or in the immediate vicinity of its prey, the scleractinian corals Tubastraea spp., in coral reef habitats. Depth 6-32 m.

Distribution.

Widespread across the Indo-Pacific including Red Sea ( Yonow 2000), Mozambique ( Tibiriçá et al. 2017), Chagos Islands ( Yonow et al. 2002), Maldives ( Yonow 1994), Myanmar ( Sanpanich and Duangdee 2019), Hong Kong ( Scott 1984), South Africa, Réunion Island, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, Papua New Guinea, Australia, Hawaii, and Mexico ( Gosliner et al. 2008). Recorded from both Andaman and Gulf waters of Thailand ( Chavanich et al. 2013).

Figures

Figure 21. A Phestilla lugubris 30 mm B Phestilla melanobrachia 30 mm (photograph by Tom Jang) C Phestilla cf. minor 18 mm D Phestilla viei 20 mm E Phestilla subodiosa 2 mm F Phestilla sp. 1 8 mm G Phestilla sp. 2 4 mm H Phestilla sp. 3 3 mm I Trinchesia sp. 1 10 mm (photograph by Wanraya Kraikruan) J Trinchesia sp. 2 40 mm K Trinchesia sp. 3 45 mm (photograph by Pau Urgell Plaza) L Trinchesiidae sp. 6 mm.