One of these was sighted on the slope off the River in Tulamben Bay. The blue spots along the sides of the parapodia resemble Thuridilla bayeri, but other features are a bit different, in particular the coloration on the rhinophores and the lack of alternating dark and light spots along the parapodial margins. Martín-Hervás, et al (2021) have shown that there are several species with similar blue spots differentiated by their molecular data. Looking at only the minor color differences between the different blue spotted species, we think this one is most like the one Martín-Hervás, et al (2021) refer to as Thuridilla sp. 8. More discussion of T. bayeri and the blue spotted forms can be found elsewhere on this site.
Created 24 January 2016
Updated 20 October 2021