Flabellina sp. 3 = Phestilla hakunamatata

February 11, 2005
From: Ali Hermosillo

.Dear Bill,
Congratulations on having the forum up again.

Updating Flabellina sp. 3,  I have to tell you it has a name and its genus will be changed soon. This species has been named Phestilla hakunamatata Ortea, Caballer & Espinosa, 2003. Sandra Millen and I have found the species to be a Hermosita rather than a Phestilla (no study of the reproductive system was done in the original description).

It has a known distribution throughout the Mexican Pacific to Panama. The color of the species is quite variable, from the darker one seen in Peter´s picture to this more pink specimen. Feeds on the hydroid Solanderia sp.

Locality: Isla Isabel, Nayarit, Mexico. Pacific Ocean. Depth: 32 feet. Length: 18 mm. 10 December 2003. Walls. Photographer: Ali Hermosillo

  • Ortea, Jesus; Manuel Caballer and Jose Espinosa (2003) Nuevos Aeolidaceos (Mollusca:Gastropoda) de Costa Rica. Avicennia, 16: 129-142, figs. 1-4, 1 pl.
  • Hermosillo, Alicia (2004) Opisthobranch Mollusks of Parque Nacional de Coiba, Panamá. (Tropical Eastern Pacific). The Festivus, 36(9): 105-117.

Thanks!
Ali

gueri25@hotmail.com

Hermosillo, A., 2005 (Feb 11) Flabellina sp. 3 = Phestilla hakunamatata. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/12811

Dear Ali,
Thanks for this. I hadn't made the connection between this species and Peter Ajtai's Flabellina sp. 3 [message #6825]. As I have commented on the species' Fact Sheet, there is very little in its anatomy or biology to support its placement in the genus Phestilla.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2005 (Feb 11). Comment on Flabellina sp. 3 = Phestilla hakunamatata by Ali Hermosillo. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/12811

Factsheet

Hermosita hakunamatata

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  1. Flabellina from Costa Rica
    From: Peter Ajtai, May 8, 2002

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