Re: Cyerce cf. kikutarobabai

April 26, 2001
From: Nishina Masayoshi

Good Morning Dr.Rudman
Thanks for your reply about my Cyerce. I always admire your broad knowledge and amount of information.

I even didn't know of Cyerce kikutarobabai so I am very glad to hear of it. I searched Cyerce kikutarobabai in Dr.Bob Bolland's web site, and his Cyerce kikutarobabai and what I sent you look almost the same. Necessary to say, Dr. Bolland says that he found only 3 C. kikutarobabai in the last 20 years in Okinawa and Mr. Ono says he found only 2 times at Zamani Island so far. What Mr.Ono found is very similar to what you found in New Caledonia. So I doubt that there are 2 different types of color variation of C. kikutarobabai.

I don't know where Dr.Baba or Hamatani found it but may be this is the first record for mainland Japan, or at least the first record at Hachijo Island. I have included some more photos you may be interested in.
Nishina

nishina@hpe15.wips.co.jp

Masayoshi, N., 2001 (Apr 26) Re: Cyerce cf. kikutarobabai. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/4239

Dear Nishina,
I thought I had looked on Bob Bolland's site before I answered your question but obviously I missed it. His photo from Okinawa certainly looks identical to your photo. But Hamatani's original description is of an animal like mine from New Caledonia and Atsushi Ono's from Kerama Ids. Hamatani's animal was collected at Yoron Is., Amami Islands, which I find in my Atlas are part of the Ryukyu Group, north of Okinawa. So I guess your record is probably the first from mainland Japan.

I suspect your animal is a particularly darkly pigmented or melanistic form of C. kikutarobabai, but it would be nice to get some more information and preferably an intermediate colour form. In one of the other photos you sent me, which I have posted with this message, you can see that the black pigment on the cerata does not go right to the bottom of the cerata. The same thing happens with the purple pigmentation in more 'typical' C. kikutarobabai.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2001 (Apr 26). Comment on Re: Cyerce cf. kikutarobabai by Nishina Masayoshi. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/4239

Factsheet

Cyerce cf. kikutarobabai

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