Hypselodoris variobranchia

Hypselodoris variobranchia is a species of sea slug or dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae.^[2]

Hypselodoris variobranchia
Lembeh, Indonesia
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Order:	Nudibranchia
Family:	Chromodorididae
Genus:	Hypselodoris
Species:	H. variobranchia
Binomial name
Hypselodoris variobranchia Gosliner & Johnson, 2018[1]

Distribution

The holotype of this nudibranch was collected at 30 m depth from Aphol's Rock, Maricaban Island, Tingloy, Batangas Province, Luzon Island, Philippines, 13.6586°N 120.9013°E / 13.6586; 120.9013. It is a common and widespread species which has been reported from Queensland, Australia; Malaysia;^[3] Indonesia and Okinawa, Japan but frequently mistaken for Hypselodoris bullocki or Hypselodoris apolegma.^[1]

Description

Hypselodoris variobranchia has a deep purple body with a broad solid white border to the mantle. The bulb of the rhinophores is orange, with purple sheaths. The gills may be orange or deep purple. There is a tall gill pocket which is also deep purple in colour. This species has frequently been reported as Hypselodoris bullocki.^[1][4] This is a large nudibranch, reaching 50 mm in length.^[1]