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Chromodoris lochi

Loch's chromodoris
Chromodoris lochi (AA1).jpg
In the Philippines
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
(unranked): clade Heterobranchia
clade Euthyneura
clade Nudipleura
clade Nudibranchia
Superfamily: Doridoidea
Family: Chromodorididae
Genus: Chromodoris
Species: C. lochi
Binomial name
Chromodoris lochi
Rudman, 1982

Chromodoris lochi, common name Loch's chromodoris, is a species of colorful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Chromodorididae.

This species is found in the tropical waters of the central Indo-Pacific region and is known to range from Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines to the Fiji and the northern coast of Australia.

Chromodoris lochi is blue or blueish-white with a white margin and typically dark or black lines running down the mantle and the foot. On the mantle, a continuous line runs around the border passing on the outside of the rhinophore and a second median one can be discontinuous.

Individuals can reach at least 4 cm in length.

There is some variation between individuals in this species, and the gills (retractile) and rhinophores (contractile) range in color from a translucent straw-color, through to pink and light orange.

This species is very similar in appearance to Chromodoris willani, Chromodoris boucheti and Chromodoris dianae and can be difficult to tell apart. Its most distinguishing feature is the uniform coloring of the mantle and the lack of white specks which are present in some of the other species.

Chromodoris lochi pair in Puerto Galera, the Philippines

C. lochi from Papua New Guinea

C. lochi with missing rhinophore in Puerto Galera, the Philippines


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