Re: Stiliger ornatus

November 26, 2003
From: Cynthia Trowbridge

Dear Bill and colleagues,
I have recently returned from working in Okinawa with Yoshi and Yayoi Hirano and their graduate students. On this visit (Nov 2003) to the west coast of the main island of Okinawa, we were able to find 2 specimens of Stiliger ornatus -- which was an exciting record for us.

Stiliger ornatus, was initially found in Japan at Seto, Kii in June and August (Baba & Hamatani, 1970) and then reported for Futo, Izu Peninsula (Suzuki, 2000). In Seto, the algal host was Codium spongiosum (= pugniforme); in Australia, the host species was the same.

In Okinawa, we found 2 Stiliger ornatus on the green alga Codium intricatum. This alga is common in low intertidal to shallow subtidal (<1 m) areas at many sites on the west coast of Okinawa. We confirmed that the sacoglossans actually fed on this alga in lab experiments.

Sacoglossans have been reported to feed on at least 9 of the 17 species of Codium on Japanese shores. The Hiranos and I are finishing several manuscripts on the assemblage of sacoglossans (Placida, Elysia, Stiliger spp.) that feed on Codium in Japan. We have been studying Sagami Bay populations for 4 years but this Okinawa record is our first sight of Stiliger ornatus. This species is GORGEOUS!

• Baba.K. & Hamatani, I. (1970) Occurrences of specimens presumably identifiable with Stiliger ornatus Ehrenberg, 1831, at Seto, Kii, Middle Japan. Publications of the Seto Marine Laboratory, 18(3): 199-206.
• Suzuki, K. 2000. Opisthobranchs of Izu Peninsula. TBS – Britannica Co., Ltd, Japan.

Cordially,
Cynthia

trowbric@onid.orst.edu

Trowbridge, C., 2003 (Nov 26) Re: Stiliger ornatus. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/11426

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