Phyllidia picta

Order : NUDIBRANCHIA
Suborder : EUCTENIDIACEA
Infraorder : DORIDACEA
Superfamily : PHYLLIDIOIDEA
Family : Phyllidiidae

DISTRIBUTION
Brunckhorst records it from the western Pacific Ocean (Fiji, Solomons, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Great Barrier Reef). Recorded here from Philippines & Thailand.

External features distinguishing Phyllidia picta from its congeners include the broad blue bases to its isolated, large gold capped tubercles, the three narrow, black median ridges and pale grey coloration ventrally (the tips of the oral tentacles are also grey). Phyllidia picta resembles Phyllidia rueppelii, Phyllidia guamensis and Phyllidia marindica. Phyllidia picta and P. rueppelii are oval in shape whereas P. guamensis and P. marindica are elongate. Phyllidia rueppelii has crescentic areas on its margin, however these are white (as are the bases of the tubercles; blue in F. picta). The mantle margin of P. rueppelii is edged in yellow-orange whereas there is no such contrasting coloration to the mantle edge in P. picta. Phyllidia marindica also has blue and gold coloration, but does not possess the crescent shaped areas around the margin. The blue areas of P. marindica are elongate and angular. Phyllidia marindica possesses a single midline longitudinal ridge (P. picta has three ridges) of coalesced tubercles. Phyllidia marindica has many black rays running between its blue tubercular areas. Phyllidia guamensis has pale yellow capped tubercles (gold in P. menindie), lacks blue coloration and has neither crescentic areas nor black rays extending laterally to the mantle margins.

Brunckhorst had considered P. picta to be a junior synonym of P. coelestis, but Yonow’s examination of the holotype of P. picta showed it to have traces of the typical colour pattern with a solid black background, and to have the anus opening ventrally.