| 1a |
Body stout, more massive than most slugs; dorsal
outgrowths represented by numerous small gill tufts concentrated along
a definite dorsolateral
margin on both sides of the body |
2 |
| 1b |
Body sluglike; dorsal outgrowths represented by cerata
that are either bushy, club-shaped (with rings of tubercles),
or paddlelike, these cerata
being arranged in a longitudinal row on both sides of the body (but there
are no definite dorsolateral
margins) |
5 |
| 2a |
With white gill tifts that form unbroken rows extending from the rhinophores
to the tail region; anterior border of the oral
veil white, crenulate,
but without papillae;
dorsum
apricot-orange, with patches of white pigment, the sides lighter. (Tochoina
tetraquetra in original key) |
Tochuina gigantea |
| 2b |
Gill tufts of each row separated by obvious spaces; anterior border
of the oral
veil with simple papillae;
body color mostly pale pink to deep salmon or rose |
3 |
| 3a |
Dorsum pale
pink, usually with an intricate pattern of white lines; edge of rhinophore
sheath smooth; oral
veil with about 10 long, slender papillae |
Tritonia festiva |
| 3b |
Dorsum salmon
or rose, without a pattern of white lines, the sides lighter; edge of rhinophore
sheath crenulate;
oral
veil with 10-30 short papillae |
4 |
| 4a |
(Although external characters are helpful in separating the next two
species, dissection may be necessary to confirm the identification):
Body about as wide as high; length up to 8 cm; oral
veil with up to 25 (usually 10-16) papillae;
dissection reveals a white oral canal, a short stout penis, and denticles
on the masticatory border. (Tritonia exsulans in original key) |
Tritonia exsulans (now
considered a synonym of
Tritonia tetraquetra) |
| 4b |
Body decidedly wider than high; length up to 12 [22] cm; oral
veil usually with 18 papillae;
dissection reveals a reddish brown or orange oral tube, an elongate, clubbed
penis, and absence of denticles on the masticatory border. (Tritonia
diomedia in original key) |
Tritonia tetraquetra |
| 5a |
With large oral hood that has numerous filiform
tentacles around its margin; usually with 4-6 pairs of paddle-shaped cerata;
oral hood with small, earlike rhinophores.
Body translucent yellowish gray, with opaque brown hepatic
diverticula |
Melibe leonina |
| 5b |
Without an oral hood, although an oral
veil may be present; cerata
bushy or club-shaped; rhinophores
large and prominent |
6 |
| 6a |
Cerata club-shaped,
with 3-6 whorls of rounded tubercles; clavus
of rhinophores
smooth; rhinophore
sheath may be crenulate,
but not drawn out into prominent papillae
that give it a crownlike appearance |
7 |
| 6b |
Cerata bushy;
clavus
of rhinophores
perfoliate
(with encircling flanges), rhinophore
sheath drawn out into 4-10 simple or branched papillae
that give it a crownlike appearance |
9 |
| 7a |
|
|
| 7b |
|
|
| 8a |
|
|
| 8b |
|
|
| 9a |
Oral veil
large, wide, overhanging the mouth region, and usually with 3 pairs of
long, branched papillae
on its anterolateral third; with a white line around the edge of the foot,
or yellowish white spots liberally scattered over the whole body, including
the cerata,
rhinophores,
and veilpapillae
(background color pale red-brown, with darker reddish-brown patches) |
Dendronotus albopunctatus |
| 9b |
Oral veil
not large and wide, and only slightly overhanging the mouth region, and
usually with more than 3 pairs of papillae
on its anterior third (if only 3 pairs of papillae
are present on the veil,
these are seldom long and branched); usually without a white line around
the edge of the foot, but if such a line is present, there are few or no
white spots scattered over the body. |
10 |
| 10a |
With a vertical row of 3-6 small, bushy outgrowths on the posterior
border of the rhinophore
stalk; with an opaque white line around the edge of the foot (body color
gray or gray-brown to deep orange-red; with 4-7 pairs of tall, bushy cerata
tipped with dark purple, orange, yellow, or white, or some combination
of these colors; length up to 30 cm but usually 6-18 cm) |
Dendronotus iris |
| 10b |
Without outgrowths on the posterior border of the rhinophore
stalk; without an opaque white line around the foot |
11 |
| 11a |
Without lateral papillae
on the rhinophore
stalks; cerata
tall and stout, branching in a rosette pattern about halfway up; body usually
pale to dark reddish brown, mottled, and with 4 parallel reddish brown
longitudinal lines on the dorsum,
2 on each side, joining the bases of the rhinophores
and each successive pair of cerata
(occasionally the body is white, yellow, or orange, but at least portions
of the 4 reddish brown lines will be evident). Length up to 5 cm |
Dendronotus subramosus |
| 11b |
Usually with lateral papillae
on the rhinophore
stalks (these papillae
may, however, be reduced or absent in Dendronotus albus and D.
diversicolor); cerata
branched in a fanlike pattern, with the fan oriented at a right angle with
respect to the surface of the body; dorsum
without 4 reddish brown longitudinal lines |
12 |
| 12a |
Length usually more than 4 cm and sometimes up to 30 cm; with 4-8 pairs
of very bushy cerata;
with 4 or 5 pairs of large, extensively branched papillae
on the oral
veil; with 20 or more simple or branched lip papillae |
13 |
| 12b |
Length usually 1 to 4 cm but sometimes up to 6 cm; with 4-8 pairs
of sparsely branched cerata;
with 3 or 4 pairs of papillae
on the oral
veil; with up to 8 simple lip papillae |
14 |
| 13a |
With a red line around the foot; body usually grayish white, with magenta
pigment on the distal portion of the cerata,
rhinophores,
and oral veil, lip, and lateral papillae
(sometimes mottled brownish red and pale pink all over); with 6-8 pairs
of tall, extensively branched cerata
(the branches are long); with numerous small accessory cerata
between the principal cerata;
anterior lip papillae
large and branched, but the posterior and ventral lip papillae
are usually simple; oral
veil with 5 pairs of extensively branched papillae;
rhinophores
with 5 pairs of extensively branched crown papillae;
length up to 28 cm, but usually 8-15 cm |
Dendronotus rufus |
| 13b |
Without a red line around the foot; body translucent white to pink,
with opaque white pigment on the distal third of the cerata
and rhinophores;
with 6 or 7 pairs of short, extensively branched cerata
(the branches relatively short); without accessory cerata
between the principal cerata;
lip papillae
(there are often 30 or more of these) small, simple, fingerlike; oral
veil with 4 or 5 pairs of short, moderately branched papillae;
rhinophores
with 4-12 (usually 5) moderately branched crown papillae
(but there may be more of these on one rhinophore
than on the other); length up to 14 cm, usually 4-8 cm. |
Dendronotus dalli |
| 14a |
Body white or lilac, with white and/or orange on the tips of the cerata;
with a dorsomedial
white line extending from the tip of the tail to at least the posteriormost
pair of cerata |
15 |
| 14b |
Body pale brown to dark reddish brown, sometimes whitish; without a
dorsomedial
white line between the tip of the tail and the posteriormost pair of cerata.
Length up to 5 cm, usually 1.5 to 3 cm; with 5-7 pairs of moderately branched
cerata;
4 pairs of simply branched papillae
on the oral
veil; up to 6 simple lip papillae;
body delicate and sluglike. Note: The following color morphs
prevail: 1) body pale brown, with yellow caps on the tubercles
and with small yellow or white flecks on the outgrowths of the dorsum.
2) body whitish with a few small pinkish brown spots on the dorsum.
3) body dark reddish brown, often with large patches of white pigment between
the cerata and/or
on the sides, ventral to the cerata,
and with white or yellow spots on the dorsum
and its outgrowths |
Dendronotus frondosus |
| 15a |
With 5-8 pairs of moderately branched cerata;
often with a few nearly conical papillae
on the dorsum;
body translucent white with opaque white pigment on the distal portions
of the cerata,
rhinophore
stalk and crown papilla, veil papillae,
and lateral papillae;
with a dorsomedial
white line extending from the tip of the tail to the level of the 4th to
2nd pairs of cerata
(in some individuals the core of the cerata
shows a gradation, proximally to distally, from tan to golden yellow to
copper to white). Length up to 4.5 cm, usually 1-3 cm |
Dendronotus albus |
| 15b |
Usually with 4 pairs (rarely 5) of tall, slender, sparsely branched
cerata;
dorsum
without papillae;
body translucent white or lilac, with intergrades occasionally seen; with
opaque white and/or metallic orange pigment on the distal portions of the
cerata
and on the rhinophores
and veil
papillae;
with a dorsomedial
white line extending from the tip of the tail to the posteriormost pair
of cerata; length
up to 7 cm, usually 3-6 cm (This couplet keyed to Dendronotus diversicolor
in the original key-now recognized as another color phase of D. albus) |
D.
diversicolor color phase of
Dendronotus
albus |