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Phyllaplysia cf. lafonti Fischer, 1872
Maximum size:
30 mm (Bertsch
& Johnson, 1981).
Identification:
This
sea
hare is translucent-cream with longitudinal
powder-white
stripes and, often, faint violet blotches. Its body is smooth and flattened when
resting on its host
algae.
Natural history:
Phyllaplysia cf. lafonti
lives on the brown algae Padina
on which it's superbly camouflaged. It appears to be
rare in shallow, rocky
habitats. We've never seen it on Maui (although one
was recently photographed there by Angel Valdes). Scott
Johnson found
one in a tide pool at an exposed site on Oahu. Shells found
in sand
samples from Halimeda
kanaloana
beds suggest that it may be more common in that
community at greater
depths.
Distribution:
Maui,
Oahu and French Frigate Shoals: may be widely
distributed in the Indo-Pacific (pending further work to determine
whether the Hawaii population is the same as others in the
Indo-Pacific).
Taxonomic notes:
This
is
the species listed in Kay, 1979 and Bertsch and
Johnson, 1981
as Petallifera Petallifera
(Rang, 1928). It's also listed in some sources as Petallifera lafonti. Carlo Cunha (pers. com.) suggested that it should be in the genus Phyllaplysia and that the Pacific animals will probably turn out to be distinct from the Atlantic Phyllaplysia lafonti.
Photo:
Scott
Johnson: side: Makapuu Point, Oahu; July, 1980.
Observations and
comments:
Note
1: ( )
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