Sakuraeolis gerberina
Hirano, 1999

Order: NUDIBRANCHIA
Suborder: AEOLIDINA
Family: Glaucidae

DISTRIBUTION

Known only from Japan: Sagami Bay (Baba, 1949); Kominato, Boso Peninsula; Yoichi, Hokkaido; Otsuchi, lwate; Mukaishima, Inland Sea of Japan.

PHOTO

Kominato, Boso Peninsula, 3 meter deep, from the hydroid Solanderia misakiensis.
PHOTOS: Yoshi Hirano.

The general ground color is translucent white and the visceral mass is pale pink and readily seen through the body surface. The distal parts of oral tentacles and rhinophores are opaque white. The digestive gland lobes, visible within the translucent cerata, are reddish orange to yellowish orange. The cerata are capped with wide subapical rings of opaque white, epidermal pigment. The jaws, visible through the translucent skin, are reddish orange. Grows up to 64 mm in length. The foot comers are tentacular and the frontal margin of the foot is transversely grooved. The oral tentacles and rhinophores are both smooth, and the former are thicker and longer than the latter. The tail is rather long, being one-third to a quarter of the body length. The cerata are arranged in multiple rows in horse-shoe shaped clusters.

Sakuraeolis gerberina has been found on the hydroid Solanderia misakiensis (Inaba), which usually grows in places affected by strong current and/or strong wave action. S. gerberina feeds on the polyps of the hydroid and also spawns on the hydroid colony. The egg mass is a thin, white undulating coil (type B: Hurst, 1967) containing eggs measuring 80-90 microns in diameter.

This species and S. sakuracea have been previously misidentified as Rizzolia modesta Bergh, 1880. See Yoshi Hirano's message for further photos.
See comparison of radulae of S. gerbera and S. sakuracea.

Reference:
• Hirano, Y.J. (1999) Two new species of Sakuraeolis from Japan. Venus, Japanese Journal of Malacology, 58(4): 191-199.

Authorship details
Hirano, Y.J., 2000 (April 5) Sakuraeolis gerberina Hirano, 1999. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet/sakugerb

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