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Additional Photos
front
side, light
head detail
dark
mantle autotomized
regenerating
mating
laying eggs
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Tomoberthella martensi (Pilsbry, 1896)
Maximum size: ( )
Identification:
This
species is highly variable in color but all forms have lines or
creases surrounding the central portion of the notum and demarcating
three major lateral areas of the mantle.
Natural history:
On Lanai and Oahu, Tomoberthella martensi is
a rare species found in exposed rocky habitats at 5-15 m (16-50 ft).
However, it is noticeably more common on the Big Island. When disturbed, it can autotomize portions
of its mantle with the breaks occurring along the characteristic
creases. It lays a white, collar-shaped egg mass composed of a thick ribbon containing a fine, irregular egg string.
Distribution:
Big Island, Lanai and Oahu: widely distributed in the Indo-Pacific;
also in the eastern Pacific.
Taxonomic notes:
It was first
recorded in Hawaii at Puako, Big Island by Scott Johnson on Aug.
12, 1980 and is illustrated in Johnson, 1982 as "Berthella species 1." It was previously listed as Berthella martensi.
Photo: Laura Bodell: North Kohala, Big Island; July 31, 2012.
Observations and comments:
Note
1: ( )
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