Bornella japonica? from Hachijo Is
November 1, 2001
From: Rie Nakano
Dear Dr.Rudman
I found this Bornella at the edge of the rocky reef of Hachijo Island, Izu,
Japan, at the end of September, 2001. I dived 4 times and I looked at it each time.
It has 3 pairs of cerata-like structures on each side of its elongate body.
Is this Bornella japonica?
Depth: 8-15m
Length: 5-15mm
Water temperature: 24.6 degrees
Frequency: common in Hachijo
Sincerely,
Rie Nakano
rie@divers.ne.jp
Nakano, R., 2001 (Nov 1) Bornella japonica? from Hachijo Is. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/5499Dear Rie,
I think this probably is Bornella japonica. I am not sure whether 3 pairs of cerata (dorso-lateral papillae) is important, because that feature may depend on the size of the animal. I think what will be of importance is the shape of the papillae on the rhinophore sheath. Baba describes the posteriormost of the rhinophore sheath papillae to have 3 or 4 secondary papillae, which unfortunately are not so clear on your photo. I suspect also that B. japonica has white cerata without the orange reticulate pattern, but all this can only be confirmed by checking its anatomy
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
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