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Additional Photos
side
underside
aggregation
egg mass
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GALLERY
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Thorunna daniellae (Kay & Young,
1969)
Maximum size: about 25 mm
(Hoover, 2006).
Identification:
The
body
of
this small, slender nudibranch is opaque white with
a magenta line encircling the notum just inside the mantle margin. The
rhinophore stalks are translucent, with the clubs orange-red on the
anterior side and opaque white on the posterior side. The gills are
opaque white with orange-red tips. In very young animals, the notum
is translucent and has a herringbone pattern of embedded white spicules
beginning between the rhinophores and ending at the gills.
Natural history:
Thorunna daniellae
is a moderately common diurnal species found on rocky bottoms. It
occurs in moderately exposed to highly exposed locations from 5-27 m
(16-90 ft) and vibrates its gills. An 8 mm animal laid a 1.5 whorl,
cream egg mass that
hatched in four days in the laboratory.
Distribution:
Maui, Oahu, Niihau, Midway and Kure: widely distributed in the
Indo-Pacific.
Taxonomic notes:
This
species
was
listed as Hypselodoris
daniellae in Kay, 1979.
It was named for
malacologist
Danielle Fellows. It's referred to as "Danielle's Thorunna" in Hoover, 1998 and as
"Danielle's nudibranch" in
Hoover, 2006. It was first reported in Hawaii from Ala Moana, Oahu in
March, 1962 (Kay & Young, 1969).
Photo: CP: 8
mm: near McGregor Point, Maui; Oct. 9, 2003.
Observations and comments:
Note
1: ( )
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