Aplysia intermedia, FARRAN, 1905

APLYSIA INTERMEDIA FARRAN, 1905

Aplysia intermedia Farran, 1905: 351 , pl. 4, fig. 8. Type locality: ‘ Ceylon’ (= Sri Lanka). Holotype: NHMUK 5553529, not examined.

Remarks

Farran (1905) described Aplysia intermedia based on a single specimen from Sri Lanka. The live animal was described as green, greyish, preserved. The mantle foramen was large, but did not have a black edge, and the parapodia were described as long and free. The tentacles were large, produced anteriorly into broad labial flaps. The radular teeth were illustrated and briefly described. Eales (1960) considered A. intermedia as a synonym of A. parvula .

While it is clear that A. intermedia belongs to A. parvula s.l., we are unable to determine to what species and, therefore, we regard A. intermedia a taxon inquirendum. Based on the original description (specifically the large mantle foramen with no black outline, the large parapodia, the broad labial flaps, and the reduced number of radular outer teeth), it could belong to Aplysia ghanimii , which is represented in the Indian Ocean, but this cannot be confirmed with certainty due to the absence of molecular data.