Journal of the Marine Biological Association of India

On three rare doridiform nudibranch molluscs from Kavaratti lagoon Laccadive Islands.

Volume 16 Issue 1

K. Virabhadra Rao, P. Sivadas and L. Krishna Kumary

Abstract

The paper deals with Asteronotus caespitosus (van Hasselt) under the family Dorididae and Phyllidia (Phyllidia) varicosa Lamarck and Phyllidia (Phyllidiella) zeylanica Kelaart under the family Phyllidiidae. All the three are new records for the Laccadive group of Islands. The first two have not beeii recorded even from the coasts of the main land of India. The descriptions of external morphology and colouration of all the three forms are based on fresh living material examined in the field. Their geographical distribution and some aspects of the internal anatomy are also dealt with. In the Indo-Pacific region, there seems to be only one species under the genus Asteronotus Ehrenberg, namely A. caespitosus. A. mabilla Beigh, A. bertrana Bergh, A. exanthemata (Kelaart), A. crescentica (CoUingwood), A. hemprichi (Ehrenberg), and A. fuscus O'Donoghue are also shown to be synonymous with A. caespitosus. P. (P) zeylanica is an extremely rare and little known species which has been recorded only for the third time in the past 113 years after its first description by Kelaart in 1859.

Date : 30-04-1974