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Additional Photos
underside
white spotted
egg mass
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GALLERY
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Cuthona pinnifera (Baba,1949)
Maximum size: 7 mm.
Identification:
The
head and body of this aeolid are translucent-white variably
flecked with white. The cerata are translucent-white and there is
usually a band of opaque white midway along their
length. They have partial, orange-brown subapical bands and white tips.
The ceratal core is darker basally, often appearing as a second
orange-brown spot. The
rhinophores are translucent-white with semi-circular annulations along
their
length and opaque white flecks on their tips.
Natural history:
Cuthona pinnifera
is a moderately rare aeolid that lives in moderately protected to
moderately exposed rocky habitats from < 1 to 34 m (< 3 to 110 ft). Kay (1979)
reported that it was found in association with the hydroid Halopteris diaphana in Kaneohe Bay.
It lays a white
egg
mass of about one whorl.
Distribution:
Maui, Oahu and Midway: widely distributed in the western & central
Pacific.
Taxonomic notes:
There
is some possibility that animals with shorter, less cylindrical
cerata and white spots on the notum may be distinct. If so, that form
is probably the "real" C. pinnifera.
It
was first recorded in Hawaii from Kaneohe
Bay, Oahu by Terry Gosliner in
Aug. 1973.
Photo: CP: 6
mm: Mala Wharf, Maui; April 27, 2005.
Observations and comments:
Note
1: ( )
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