| 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. |
Tochuina
tetraquetra |
| 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 |
| 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
diomedea |
| 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 veil
papillae
(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,
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 long); with numerous small accessory cerata
between the principal cerata;
anterior lip papillae
large and branched, but the posterior and ventral lip papillae
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 veilpapillae;
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 |
Dendronotus
diversicolor |