Phyllidiopsis pipeki

Phyllidiopsis pipeki is a species of sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusk in the family Phyllidiidae.^[2]

Phyllidiopsis pipeki
Phyllidiopsis pipeki, Pemuteran, Bali.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Order:	Nudibranchia
Superfamily:	Phyllidioidea
Family:	Phyllidiidae
Genus:	Phyllidiopsis
Species:	P. pipeki
Binomial name
Phyllidiopsis pipeki Brunckhorst, 1993[1]

Distribution

The type specimen of this species was described from Madang, Papua New Guinea. The original description included numerous specimens from Madang, the Philippines, the Great Barrier Reef and the Coral Sea. It has been reported from Fiji; Sulawesi and Bali, Indonesia.^[3]

Description

This nudibranch has a translucent dorsum with fine white or pink stippling and two longitudinal black lines. There are a few radiating black lines at right angles to the longitudinal lines and a Y-shaped line at the front of the head. It is a large Phyllidiid, growing to about 85 mm in length. The rhinophores are black at the tips with a pink area on the frontal surfaces. It is similar to Phyllidiopsis krempfi.^[3]

Diet

This species feeds on a sponge.