The animal we are calling Phyllidiopsis fissurata is rare in the Marshalls. The photos below appear to show the species described by Brunckhorst, but there are some differences. In particular, the rhinophores of this species were described as pink with a black anterior vertical line. Our specimens, as seen in the photo below of a specimen taken on a Kwajalein Atoll seaward reef on 18 April 2010, have rhinophores that appear mostly black with a pink band down the anterior edge. It is possible that they represent something different.
This pair was found on the deep seaward slope at about 50 meters at Kwajalein Atoll.
The specimen below was photographed at Ailinglaplap Atoll by Stan Jazwinski.
There are side and ventral shots of the smaller specimen below. It was found on 27 July 2009 on a very shallow Kwajalein Atoll lagoon reef at a depth of about 2m. The pinkish foot is a character of this species.
Created 25 December 2006
Updated 5 January 2022