Gastropteron bicornutum? from Izu Peninsula, Japan

February 13, 2002
From: Haruo Kinoshita

Hello,
Miss Hisako Yamada who is my friend sent an e-mail me with some sea-slug pictures that were found and taken at Izu Peninsula. She is thinking this is one of the Gastropteridae, especially similar to Gastropteron bicornutum. And she also said this is not rare on there. Can you please identify this for her?

Date : 25-Apr-2001
Location : Ose-zaki on the west of Izu Peninsula, Japan
Depth : 10m
Length : 12mm
Water temperature: 14c
Photo: Hisako Yamada

Regards,
Haruo Kinoshita

kinoh@vesta.ocn.ne.jp

Kinoshita, H., 2002 (Feb 13) Gastropteron bicornutum? from Izu Peninsula, Japan. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/6155

Dear Haruo,
Please thank Miss Hisako Yamada for this excellent photo. I agree that it is almost certainly Gastropteron bicornutum. This species was described from a number of preserved animals and to my knowledge only brief colour notes have ever been published. So this is probably the first published colour illustration of the species.

In Baba & Tokioka's description of this species they give some brief colour notes from the collector:
" ... yellowish white shaded in places .. with sepia black .. and the whole surfaces of the cepahilc shield, dorsal hump and parapodia are evenly covered by orange-yellow pigment spots."

The other distinctive feature of this species are the two dorsal posterior processes from which the species gets its name. In an earlier message I suggest the photo in Okutani (2000) - Marine Mollusks in Japan, which is labelled G. bicornutum, is a misidentified specimen Siphopteron nigromarginatum.

• Baba, K. & Tokioka, T. (1965) Two more new species of Gastropteron from Japan, with further notes on G. flavum T. & B. (Gastropoda : Opisthobranchia). Publications of the Seto Marine Biological Laboratory, 12(5): 363-377, Text-figs 1-8, Pl.25.

This is another interesting find from Japan,
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2002 (Feb 13). Comment on Gastropteron bicornutum? from Izu Peninsula, Japan by Haruo Kinoshita. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/6155

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