The colour of this sea slug is very distinctive, being dark brown or black, with a thin, bright blue margin to the shields, posterior lobes and parapodia.

[3] This sea slug could be confused with Chelidonura varians which has very similar colouring, but has the lobes at the back of the body shield drawn out into long pointed tips, the left one always being longer than the right.

[4] Another similar species is Philinopsis speciosa, but it lacks the distinctive hump on the head, and has a notable pointed extension at the back of its headshield.

[3] Tubulophilinopsis gardineri is native to shallow water in the Indo-Pacific region, its range extending from South Africa and Tanzania, to Japan and Fiji.

It can move quite rapidly, and can follow the mucus trail left by a sea slug, detecting it by means of sensory hairs beside its mouth.