Chromodoris albopunctata (Garrett, 1879)

This species is rare in the Marshall Islands. We've seen a dozen individuals at Enewetak Atoll and one at Kwajalein. All individuals observed have been on lagoon reefs in shallow water, all less than 8 meters depth. Our specimens ranged in size up to about 70mm, making it one of the larger chromodorids in this area.

The one below was the large, 70mm specimen observed.

The shot below shows the single Kwajalein specimen.

This side view shows the bright yellow foot.

The photo below shows a relatively small specimen from Enewetak. It pretty well matches the description of a species Marcus & Burch (1965) described from the same place as Chromodoris briqua but I am certain it is a color form of C. albopunctata.

This is a close look at the anterior end and illustrates the mesmerizing color pattern.

Created 13 December 2005
Updated 14 January 2007

Reference:

Marcus, E. & J.B. Burch. 1965. Marine Euthyneuran Gastropoda from Eniwetok Atoll, Western Pacific. Malacologia 3(2):235-262.