Bosellia mimetica? from Japan.

Dear Jun,
This is indeed an interesting find. I have checked with Kathe Jensen [#12346] who agrees that it is a species of Bosellia. There are only 'hints' at Bosellia being found in the Indo-West Pacific. Marcus (1978) mentioned specimens from the Red Sea and Burn(1998) mentions that Sherman Bleakney found specimens in Hawaii. It is interesting that Kathe Jensen mentions a sighting from Hawaii as well, in her message. As she says, until we know more it is difficult to say whether your animal is the same as one of the Atlantic species. If it is, it would be a very unusual 'natural distribution'.

I am interested in how some of the blood vessels appear to form small raised papillae on the animal, almost as though they are proto-cerata or perhaps all that are left of the cerata of some ancestor. I understand that Bosellia doesn't fit perfectly in the Elysioidea. Perhaps its specialised shape and apparent loss of features need to be re-evaluated.

The other interesting feature is the algae your animals are on. I understood that species of Bosellia fed on Halimeda and the related Udotea. Have you a photo of the whole algal plant or do you know what it is? It would be useful to have an identification.

• Burn, 1998 [In} Beesley, P.L., Ross, G.J.B. & Wells, A.(eds), 1998. Mollusca - The Southern Synthesis
• Marcus, Ev. (1978) On a new species of Bosellia. Boletim de Zoologia da Universidade de Sao Paulo, 3: 1-6.

Best wishes
Bill Rudman