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Introduction
Welcome to
the Sea Slugs of Hawaii web site. This site is the culmination of 30
years of our study and passion for Hawaiian sea slugs--gastropod
mollusks of the subclass opisthobranchia including nudibranchs and
their relatives. As many of you know, this was originally meant to be a
book. However, with taxonomic changes occurring frequently due to DNA
and other analysis, we wanted to create a site which could be updated,
as needed.
Interest in Hawaiian sea slugs spread beginning in 1979 with the
publication of Dr. Alison Kay’s comprehensive book, Hawaiian Marine
Shells. A wider group including divers was introduced to these
beautiful creatures in 1981 by Hans Bertsch and Scott Johnson’s
full-color book, Hawaiian Nudibranchs.
That
little
book, clearly a
labor of love, was the main source for information on Hawaiian animals
until John Hoover’s book, Hawaii’s
Sea Creatures was published in 1998.
The latter includes many common Hawaiian species and their new, updated
names. Most recently, on-line sea slug sites have provided a vast
amount of information for someone researching this group (particularly
Dr. Bill Rudman's Sea Slug Forum).
Also, Keoki Stender and John Hoover have created small on-line
galleries of Hawaiian species as part of their larger invertebrate
sites. But, there has been no site devoted specifically to Hawaii's
unique fauna.
We hope this site will be a valuable addition to knowledge of Hawaii’s
sea slugs as well as sea slugs, in general. Although we do not have a
forum for discussion, we are happy to receive suggestions, update the
site based on contributed observations and answer questions.
There is one person without whom this site would not exist. Dr. Terry
Gosliner of the California Academy of Sciences is the recognized
authority on the taxonomy of Hawaiian sea slugs. He has advised, taught
and inspired us, and has identified and named many of the species on
these pages. There are numerous other people who have contributed in
ways large and small and we recognize and thank them on the
acknowledgments page.
All photos are copyright© of the credited
photographer and all animals illustrated were found by the photographer unless otherwise noted.
We hope you enjoy the site.
Cory Pittman
and Pauline Fiene
Contact Info.
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By now, this site is largely complete. However, we're continually
correcting typos, adding new photos, updating information, etc. In
addition, there remain "holes" in the data and credits that we have yet
to fill. We ask the patience of the viewer while we add that info.
Meanwhile, we've also started a "recent
changes" page listing major revisions. CP & PF
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