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Additional Photos
flared cerata
cerata detail
pericardium
side
underside
genital papilla
internal eggs
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GALLERY
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Stiliger
sp. #10
Maximum size: 10 mm.
Identification:
This
striking animal has a translucent body densely frosted with
iridescent granules that range from apparently transparent on the notum
to blue-white on the rhinophores and the tips of the cerata. There is
usually a black-green spot anterior to the pericardium and the branches
of the digestive gland in the cerata range from black-green to mottled
brown, taking the form of irregular swellings in the tips. Moss-like
masses of bright orange tissue (glandular?) form subapical rings in the
cerata and the surface of the cerata is minutely tuberculate. The eye spots are closer together than in most species of Stiliger but further apart and
smaller than in most species of Costasiella.
Natural history:
Stiliger sp. #10
is a moderately common species found in moderately
protected to moderately exposed rocky habitats at depths of < 1 to
18 m (< 3 to 59 ft) . They show a diurnal activity pattern while
held and the central cerata are readily autotomized.
Distribution:
Big Island, Maui and Kauai: widely distributed in the western & central Pacific.
Taxonomic notes:
It was first
recorded in Hawaii from Maalaea, Maui by PF on Sept. 21, 1989.
Photo: Bob Pecoraro: found by Debbie Pecoraro: Kawaihae, Big Island; July 9, 2022.
Observations and comments:
Note
1: ( )
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