Hypselodoris krakatoa

Hypselodoris krakatoa
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Order:	Nudibranchia
Family:	Chromodorididae
Genus:	Hypselodoris
Species:	H. krakatoa
Binomial name
Hypselodoris krakatoa Gosliner & Johnson, 1999[1]

Hypselodoris krakatoa is a species of sea slug or dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Chromodorididae.[2]

Distribution

The holotype of this nudibranch was described from off southern point, Culebra (Bonito) Island, Batangas, Luzon, Philippines, at 25 m (82 ft) depth. Paratypes from the Philippines, Papua New Guinea and Okinawa were included in the original description. It is reported in the Western Pacific Ocean from Japan to Papua New Guinea.[2] Specimens from Taiwan originally identified as this species are now known to be distinct and named as Hypselodoris cerisae.[3]

Description

Hypselodoris krakatoa has a pale brown-white body and a purplish-blue foot. There are black lines and white spots running in lines across its body and dorsum. The gills are a light-brown colour and its rhinophores are orange-white. This species can reach a total length of at least 55 mm.[2]

References

1. 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: 1-114.
2. Rudman, W.B., 2000 (August 13) Hypselodoris krakatoa Gosliner & Johnson, 1999. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.
3. Epstein, H. E.; Hallas, J. M.; Johnson, R. F.; Lopez, A.; Gosliner, T. M. (2018). Reading between the lines: revealing cryptic species diversity and colour patterns in Hypselodoris nudibranchs (Mollusca: Heterobranchia: Chromodorididae). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 2018, XX, 1–74. With 40 figures.