Caloria indica (Bergh, 1896)

Nithyanandan, Manickam, Al-Kandari, Manal & Mantha, Gopikrishna, 2021, New records of nudibranchs and a cephalaspid from Kuwait, northwestern Arabian Gulf (Mollusca, Heterobranchia), ZooKeys 1048, pp. 91-107 : 91

Caloria indica (Bergh, 1896)

Figure 8

Learchis indica Bergh, 1896: 385-394, figs 1-4 (Ambon, Indonesia).

Photographic record.

SAASC, Al-Khiran, 18 November 2014, one individual on sand and rock mixed substratum photographed at 3.5 m depth, Don Christopher Pereira.

Description.

The body is slender, translucent white, with a marking of white lines on the dorsum up to the rhinophores. Orange markings are prominent on the anterior part in front of the cerata and along the sides between the cerata. The rhinophores are smooth, white in colour, orange at the base with a prominent orange band at the middle. The oral tentacles also appear white, long, and slender, with basal orange markings. The cerata are fusiform with white, brown, and blue bands and a translucent white tip. The tail is white, long, and pointed.

Distribution.

Indo-West and Central Pacific, Hawaii, Japan, Australia, Indonesia, India, South Africa, Tanzania ( Gosliner 1987; Yonow 2008; Gosliner et al. 2015), India ( Sreeraj et al. 2012), Maldives ( Yonow 1994b), Thailand ( Mehrotra et al. 2021), Myanmar ( Sanpanich and Duangdee 2019), Papua and New Guinea ( Baine and Harasti 2007), Christmas Island, Fiji, New Caledonia, Oman, Seychelles, and Solomon Islands ( Gosliner et al. 2008), and now Kuwait (this study).

Remarks.

Inhabits coral reef areas ( Mehrotra et al. 2021). Feeds on hydroids ( Yonow 2008; Gosliner et al. 2015). A new record to Kuwait and the APG.

Figures

Figure 8. Caloria indica (Bergh, 1896). Photograph Don Christopher Pereira.