Doris gloriosa Kelaart (1858)

Tibiriçá, Yara, Pola, Marta, Pittman, Cory, Gosliner, Terrence M., Malaquias, Manuel A. & Cervera, Juan Lucas, 2023, A Spanish dancer? No! A troupe of dancers: a review of the family Hexabranchidae Bergh, 1891 (Gastropoda, Heterobranchia, Nudibranchia), Organisms Diversity & Evolution (New York, N. Y.) 23 (4), pp. 697-742 : 730-731

Doris gloriosa Kelaart (1858)

Description notes Description of external morphology only; no illustration provided: size 70 mm; seven to eight gills arranged around the anus in separate holes; notum pink, mottled and covered in red, yellow, and white dots; mantle margin white, sub-margin red; interior to this, a whitish band followed by red with “internal club-shaped prolongations” (page 92); second specimen with a cherry red edge (instead of white).

Own conclusion/opinion on its taxonomic status The author noted the swimming behavior and that the appearances of the animals change when rolling the mantle making them look like different species. Keelaart (1858) thought this species was likely Doris marginata . Nevertheless, he concluded that D. marginata ’s description was a bit vague and could be applied to several other species. Therefore, he decided to provide a new specific name. The color description clearly reveals that this species represents a transitional morphotype of H. lacer .