Flying Aphelodoris
Aphelodoris karpa
Aphelodoris karpa is a large conspicuous species of nudibranch in the Dampier Archipelago where it grows to 10 cm in length. The body is soft and fleshy with a broad mantle skirt. The mantle is brown to dark brown, sometimes with darker brown patches near the edge of the mantle. There are scattered rounded tubercles over the mantle, usually with two large ones in the midline just in front of the gills. The tips of the tubercles are a translucent whitish colour, usually with a bright orange tip. The mantle edge has a thin translucent white border, and sometimes there is a broad translucent orange submarginal band. The raised rhinophoral pockets are translucent white with an orange border, and the gill pocket is similarly coloured.
Morphology
The five tripinnate gills are brown and white, often tipped with cream or orange, but the gill colour is extremely variable between animals. The rhinophore club is dark brown with a white line up the anterior and poetrior midlines, while the translucent stalk has brown pigmentation on the posterior side. The foot is translucent white with some brown patching, and the edge of the foot can have an orange line, which if present, can be entire or broken.
Evolution
Little is known about the relationship of this species to other members of the genus.
Behaviour
It is reported to be able to swim by a dorso-ventral flexion of the whole body and grows up to 10 cm in length.
Habitat
Marine
Distribution
This is an Australian endemic, known only from Shark Bay, Western Australia to Gove Peninsula, Northern Territory, Australia.
Life Cycle
Sexual, hermaphrodites
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
|---|---|
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Subclass: | Heterobranchia |
| Order: | Nudibranchia |
| Suborder: | Euctenidiacea |
| Infraorder: | Doridacea |
| Superfamily: | Doridoidea |
| Family: | Dorididae |
| Genus: | Aphelodoris |
| Species: | karpa |
| Name Published Year: | 2003 |
|---|---|
| Scientific Name Authorship: | Wilson |
| Commercial Impact: | None |
| Conservation Assessment: | Least Concern |
Cite this page
Western Australian Museum Collections https://museum.wa.gov.au/online-collections/names/aphelodoris-karpa
Accessed 20 Oct 2025
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