Home Acknowledgments Conventions Glossary Maps References Links Articles Thumbnails Species list Family Next species _______________   Additional Photos   shell	Petalifera lafonti (Fischer, 1870)   Maximum size:  30 mm (Bertsch & Johnson, 1981). Identification:  This sea hare is translucent-cream with longitudinal powder-white stripes. Its body is smooth and flattened when resting on its host algae. Natural history:  Petalifera lafonti lives on the brown algae Padina on which it's superbly camouflaged. It appears to be rare in rocky habitats. We've never seen it on Maui but Scott Johnson found one animal 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: circumtropical. Taxonomic notes:  This is the species listed in Kay, 1979 and Bertsch and Johnson, 1981 as Petalifera petalifera (Rang, 1928). Photo:  Scott Johnson: Makapuu Point, Oahu; July, 1980. Observations and comments: Note 1:  ( )
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