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Additional Photos

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Hypselodoris maridadilus Rudman, 1977

Maximum size: 34 mm (Bertsch
and Johnson, 1981).
Identification:
This
species has a bright-white body with five longitudinal purple-pink
lines on the notum and a purple-pink line on the margin of the mantle.
The rhinophores are orange with tiny white tips and the gills are
orange with white on the upper edges.
Natural history:
Hypselodoris maridadilus
is a moderately rare species in the main islands but is commonly seen
at
Midway Atoll. It is found in moderately protected locations on rocky
bottoms and patch reefs at depths of < 1 to 20 m (< 3 to 65 ft).
It
lays an
bright orange egg mass.
Distribution:
Maui, Oahu and Midway: widely distributed in the Indo-Pacific.
Taxonomic notes:
Some
authors consider the Hawaiian population to be Hypselodoris whitei (Adams &
Reeve,
1850) rather than H.
maridadilus (restricting the latter to the Indian Ocean). See
the See Slug
Forum for further discussion. It was first recorded in Hawaii from
the Ala Wai channel, Oahu by
Scott Johnson on Nov. 13, 1977. Described from East Africa, its
scientific name comes
from the Swahili
word "maridadi" which means "beautiful." It's referred to as the
"magenta-striped nudibranch" in Hoover, 1998 & 2006.
Photo: PF: 29
mm: Napili Bay, Maui; Aug. 19, 1994.
Observations and comments:
Note
1: ( )
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