Julia zebra
Kawaguti, 1981

Order: SACOGLOSSA
Superfamily: OXYNOOIDEA
Family: Juliidae

DISTRIBUTION

Japan, Hawaii, Midway Atoll, Raratonga and Magaia (Cook Islands). Probably widespread at least in the tropical Pacific.

PHOTO

Live animal 2.5 mm long, from algae wash at Napili Bay, Maui, Hawaiian Ids, July 3, 1996. Depth less than 1.5 m. Shell 2.9 mm long. From beach drift at Makuleia Bay, Maui in 1983. Photos: Cory Pittman

The color is highly consistent with narrow, continuous brown bands on the anterior portion of the shell and broader, fainter bands on the posterior portion. The bands are superimposed over random white blotches. In live animals, there is extensive brown pigment on the head and rhinophores. The hinge is relatively small and constricted. The central, tooth-like knob is nearly circular in cross section with only a slight indentation on its posterior margin.

It might ultimately turn out to be a synonym of J. thecaphora Carpenter, 1857. Beach-worn shells of that species from the Gulf of California housed at the California Academy of Sciences appear indistinguishable from Hawaiian shells of J. zebra.

[See separate messages for details of Hawaiian records and the shell]

Reference:
• Kawaguti, S (1981) A new bivalved gastropod Julia zebra. Bulletin of the Kawasaki Paramedical College, 1: 9-13.

Authorship details
Pittman, C., 2001 (October 10) Julia zebra Kawaguti, 1981 . [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet/julizebr

Related messages

  1. Hawaiian Julia zebra
    From: Cory Pittman, October 12, 2001
  2. Shell of Julia zebra
    From: Cory Pittman, October 12, 2001

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