Chromodoris tinctoria (Rüppell & Leuckart, 1828)

Chromodoris tinctoria is a relatively large species that we have seen sporadically at Kwajalein, Enewetak, and Bikini Atolls. This species would appear to be somewhat variable across its range if all the reported specimens have been correctly identified. Considering the variation, I suspect that there could be more than one similar species. We have seen individuals at least up to 75mm in length. They live on lagoon interisland reefs and pinnacles from about 2 to 15 meters depth, but seem most common in lagoon patches of Halimeda algae. For a while, three individuals living in the harbor at Kwajalein could often be seen out crawling on Halimeda, especially early in the morning. After a few months of being regularly sighted, they suddenly vanished. The first three below are large specimens.

The next five shots show increasingly smaller specimens.

We initially thought the tiny specimen below was a different species. In fact, its radula had a wide innermost lateral tooth, more like a species of Noumea. So it could be different. However, it would be interesting to investigate the possibility that tooth morphology may change a bit as the animal ages.

Created 19 December 2005
Updated 5 January 2009