Ferdina flavescens Gray 1840

Figure 4 A,C,E

Gray 1840: 282; deLoriol 1885: 47; Livingstone 1931: 305; A.M. Clark 1967: 192; Clark & Rowe 1971: 34, 65 (in key); Marsh & Campbell 1991: 218; Bollard et al. 2013: 495, 496; Conand et al. 2016:

Occurrence. Mascarene Islands (Reunion, Mauritius), Europa Island, Mozambique, 0– 30 m .

Taxonomic notes. Although first described by Gray (1840), few data are available for this species. All known occurrence data for F. flavescens is reported from shallow-water settings in the west Indian Ocean region. More recently, this species has been reported from the African mainland (Mozambique) and nearby Europa Island (Conand et al. 2016). Although relatively little morphological variation has been reported, living color for this species is reported to be primarily yellow to brown/gold for the large plates on the abactinal surface and dark brown-red for the surface around the convex plates.In some individuals the colors on the disk and the body surface are nearly identical.

Material examined. MNHN-IE-2013-6603; No data; Coll. Michelin 1868; 1 dry spec. R=3.6, r=0.8.