''Hypselodoris iba'' is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

sea slug Sea slug is a common name for some Marine biology, marine invertebrates with varying levels of resemblance to terrestrial Slug, slugs. Most creatures known as sea slugs are gastropods, i.e. they are Sea snail, sea snails (marine gastropod moll ...

or dorid

nudibranch Nudibranchs () are a group of soft-bodied marine gastropod molluscs, belonging to the order Nudibranchia, that shed their shells after their larval stage. They are noted for their often extraordinary colours and striking forms, and they have b ...

, a marine

gastropod Gastropods (), commonly known as slugs and snails, belong to a large Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, freshwater, and fro ...

mollusc Mollusca is a phylum of protostome, protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant taxon, extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Chromodorididae Chromodorididae, or chromodorids, are a taxonomic family of colourful sea slugs; dorid nudibranchs, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Doridoidea. “Chromodorid nudibranchs are among the most gorgeously coloured of all animals.� ...

. It has previously been confused with ''

Hypselodoris bullocki ''Hypselodoris bullockii'' is a species of colourful sea slug or dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae. ''Hypselodoris bullockii'' is quite pale purple in colour. It has been mistaken for a number of other s ...

''.

Distribution

This nudibranch was described from depth at Aphol’s Reef, Tingloy, Maricaban Island,

Batangas Batangas, officially the Province of Batangas ( ), is a first class province of the Philippines located in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Calabarzon region. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 2,908,494 people, making ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, . It is also reported from

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

Description

''Hypselodoris iba'' has previously been confused with ''

'' although DNA sequencing suggests that it is a mimic rather than a close relative. It has a range of colour forms. Typically it has a violet semi-translucent body with a bright opaque white margin to the mantle. The violet colouration can be absent and replaced by milky white or present just as a more intense inner border to the mantle. In these pale colour forms there is usually a brown patch in the middle of the back, edged with violet. The gills are pale at the base becoming orange or brown towards the tips. The rhinophores have orange or brown clubs and usually have purple bases. A characteristic which distinguishes this species from similar coloured species in the ''Hypselodoris bullocki'' clade is that the mantle behind the gills is quite abruptly narrowed and contain a concentration of subcutaneous defensive glands. This species can reach a total length of at least 70 mm.Gosliner, T.M., Behrens, D.W. & Valdés, Á., 2018. ''Nudibranch and Sea Slug Identification - Indo-Pacific.'' New World Publications; 2nd Revised, Updated edition. 452 pp. , , p. 188

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q60524319 Chromodorididae Gastropods described in 2018