We saw several of these in the Tulamben area, under rocks in the shallows or crawling about in the open at night, often seeing Carminodoris bifurcata on the same dives. There is kind of a fine line between these and Carminodoris bifurcata. The original description of C. flammea states that the species are similar but that C. bifurcata is supposed to have a band of red brown nodules middorsally between the rhinophores and gills while those of C. flammea are more red. Whether to consider something red or red-brown is a bit subjective. From our photos, it seems that overall the dorsal nodules of C. flammea are larger and less crowded together than those of C. bifurcata, but are similar in size to those of C. armata. Considerable differences are reported in the internal anatomy but that doesn't help those of us trying to identify from photos. At the time of the original description C. flammea was known only from Bali; however, the species does appear to be more widespread.
Created 15 December 2022