Haminoea elegans
(Gray, 1825)
Order: CEPHALASPIDEA
Superfamily: HAMINOEOIDEA
Family: Haminoeidae
DISTRIBUTION
West Atlantic - Caribbean to Brazil
PHOTO
St. Ann's Bay, Jamaica, West Indies. Found on sparse Manatee Grass on sand substrate at <1 m depth. Photo: R. Gundersen.
Like many species of the genus the animal is translucent with patches and mottling of different shades of brown and black. According to Thompson (1977) this is the only west Atlantic species of the genus in which the posterior tip of the headshield is not bilobed.
The fragile, lightly calcified shell, is characterised by its distinct pattern of closely spaced spiral grooves.
References:
• Marcus, Er. (1957) On Opisthobranchia from Brazil (2). Journal of the Linnean Society of London, Zoology, 43(292): 390-486.
• Martinez, E. & Ortea, J. (1997) Haminoea elegans (Gray, 1825) (Opisthobranchia: Cephalaspidea), a truly amphiatlantic species. The Veliger, 40(4): 281-291
• Thompson, T.E. (1977) Jamaican opisthobranch molluscs I. Journal of Molluscan Studies, 43(2): 93-139, pls.1-3.
Rudman, W.B., 2003 (October 14) Haminoea elegans (Gray, 1825). [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet/hamieleg
