Hypselodoris whitei explained

Hypselodoris whitei is a colourful species of sea slug or dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Chromodorididae.

Distribution

This nudibranch was described from Caramata Passage between Sumatra and Borneo. It is reported from the Tropical Western Pacific from Australia to Hawaii.^[1]

Description

Hypselodoris whitei has a yellow body with purple longitudinal lines, and a purple bordered mantle. The gills and rhinophores are bright orange tipped with white. It is very similar in appearance to Hypselodoris maridadilus but that species lacks the white-tipped rhinophores and gills. This species can reach a total length of at least 40 mm and feeds on sponges.^{[1] [2]}

Notes and References

1. Rudman, W.B., 1999 (1 March) Hypselodoris whitei (Adams & Reeve, 1850). [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.
2. Gosliner T.M. & Johnson R.F. (1999). "Phylogeny of Hypselodoris (Nudibranchia: Chromodorididae) with a review of the monophyletic clade of Indo-Pacific species, including descriptions of twelve new species". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 125(1): 1–114. .