Herviella affinis from Japan.
September 16, 2002
From: Jun Imamoto
Dear Bill.
I found this sea slug in a tide pool under a rock. It is the first time I have seen it and I think it was the egg masses that drew my attention to the slug. Ms. Yamada and I think it is Herviella affinis Baba, 1960. I feel this slug prefers the intertidal areas, or perhaps its food live intertidally. I am happy if these reports are useful for your research.
Manazuru-coast, Sagami Bay, Japan. Size approx 10mm, Intertidal, Temp: 25C. 10 Aug 2002.
Best Regards,
Jun Imamoto
http://umiushi.zive.net/
imamoto@wips.co.jp
Dear Jun,
Thanks for another interesting find. It does seem to be Baba's H. affinis. The only difference I can see from Baba's original description is that he described the upper half of the rhinophores as being 'chrome yellow' which I would assume means they are a bright opaque yellow. In your animal they are a dull translucent yellowish tinge. I am not sure what the significance of this difference is. I described a species from east Africa, Herviella cloaca which is very similar to your animal. The main external difference is that the upper half of the rhinophores are white. It is possible that there is one species which occurs from east Africa to the western Pacific differing only in the colour of the rhinophores. It will be useful if we can get some more photos of Herviella affinis from Japan, specially if we can get one with 'chrome yellow' rhinophores.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
