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Additional Photos
side
front
rhinophores
young
dark & light pair
feeding
mating
with egg mass
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GALLERY
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Hypselodoris infucata (Rüppell
&
Leuckart, 1828)
Maximum size: 60 mm.
Identification:
This
distinctive animal has a blotchy, translucent-gray body with
numerous black and yellow spots. The spots become proportionately
smaller and more numerous with increasing age. The rhinophores are
white with brilliant red clubs and the gills are white lined with red.
Natural history:
Hypselodoris infucata
is a diurnal species that is locally common in the highly protected to
moderately protected mud flats and silty reef flats of Kaneohe
bay, Oahu. It ranges in depth from < 1 to 11 m (< 3-35 ft).
Occasionally, it has
also been found on Oahu in somewhat more exposed habitats though on
Maui we've seen it only in Kahului Harbor, another protected site. It
feeds on
the
gray sponge, Dysidea fragilis
(Bertsch & Johnson, 1981),
and lays a white egg mass.
Distribution:
Big Island, Maui and Oahu: widely distributed in the Indo-Pacific;
introduced into
the
Mediterranean.
Taxonomic notes:
It was probably first recorded in Hawaii from Oahu by Paul Zahl in 1959 (as Glossodoris festiva). The name
means "painted" and it's referred to as the "painted nudibranch" in
Hoover, 1998 & 2006.
Photo: Mike
Severns: found by John Hoover; Mokoli'i Island, Oahu; March 29, 1997.
Observations and comments:
Note
1: ( )
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