Doris superba Gould, 1852

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

Doris superba Gould, 1852 (Fig. 26J)

Description notes Specimen described based on external features. Size 140 mm; mantle wide on the sides, emarginate anteriorly; background color intense red with minute yellow dots; six double-gills; lobate oral tentacles.

Own conclusion/opinion on its taxonomic status the author states that this species is similar to “ Doris sandwichiensis ” but the red is more intense and concentrated, the mantle does not extend onto the anterior side of the body, and the shape of the oral tentacles is more lobate. Furthermore, Gould (1852) adds that this species is almost identical to Doris flammulata except for the shape of the oral tentacles and the number of gill branches. According to our findings, the minute, evenly distributed white dots on a dark background suggest that this name refers to the dark morphotype of H. lacer . Again, the coloration pattern associated with the size excludes the possibility of this species being H. giganteus sp. nov.