Okenia kendi
Gosliner, 2004
Order: NUDIBRANCHIA
Suborder: DORIDINA
Superfamily: ANADORIDOIDEA
Family: Goniodorididae
DISTRIBUTION
This species is known from Luzon Island, Philippines, and Sulawesi, Indonesia .
PHOTO
Upper: Sepok Point, Maricaban Island, Batangas Province, Luzon, Philippines. Lower: SEM of radula showing lateral teeth on right side (CASIZ 085883). Scale bar = 23 µm. [Photos from Gosliner, 2004 with permission].
The animal is wide and dorso-ventrally flattened with a well-developed mantle edge bearing eight elongate papillae along each side. There is also a single dorsal papilla in the midline halfway between the gills and the rhinophores. The papillae are very long, at least as long as the width of the mantle, and become wider and somewhat flattened towards the tip. The rhinophores are similarly shaped and even longer. The gills are arranged in three clusters of two or three gills, one in the midline just in front of the anus, and the other two, one on each side of the anus.
The body color is a translucent yellowish white with a pattern of opaque brown and white. There is a broad brown band down the dorsal midline running from in front of the rhinophores to behind the gills, tapering posteriorly into a thin brown median line running almost to the posterior tip of the foot. There is a gap around the base of the mid-dorsal papillae and the gills. The brown band is outlined with an opaque white border. The gills, mantle papillae and rhinophores are all dark brown. The living animals are known to reach 30 mm in length. It is reported to feed on encrusting bryozoans (Gosliner, Behrens, and Williams, 1996).
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Gosliner, T.M, Behrens, D. & Willams, G. (1996) Coral Reef Animals of the Indo-Pacific. Sea Challengers, Monterey, California. 314 pp., 1103 pls.
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Gosliner, T. M. (2004) Phylogenetic Systematics of Okenia, Sakishimaia, Hopkinsiella and Hopkinsia (Nudibranchia: Goniodorididae) with descriptions of new species from the tropical Indo-Pacific. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, 55: 125-161
Rudman, W.B., 2004 (December 21) Okenia kendi Gosliner, 2004. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/okenkend
Related messages
Okenia kendi ? from East Timor
July 8, 2008
From: Brian Francisco
Concerning message #20792:
Hi Bill
We found what we think is a species of Okenia today. After reviewing the long list of Okenia in the species list, our best guess is that our individual could be a color form of Okenia kendi.
Locality: K41, 12 meters, East Timor, Banda Sea, 06 July 2008, rubble slope. Length: 15 mm. Photographer: Brian Francisco.
Thanks for your help.
Brian
www.uwet.net
francisco.brian@gmail.com
Francisco, B., 2008 (Jul 8) Okenia kendi ? from East Timor. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/21678
Dear Brian,
It's possibly something unnamed, by I think your suggestion that it is a colour form of Okenia kendi is an entirely justifiable suggestion. Its general shape and general colour pattern is the same and dark brown pigments often do aberrant things in nudibranchs. Maybe the dark brown doesn't fully appear until the animals are quite large.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
Okenia kendi from the Celebes Sea
September 24, 2007
From: Sean Kearney
Dear Bill,
Another Okenia kendi from Lembeh. Once again there is purple coloration. It was a little hard to photograph in the current at the end of the dive. Hope that this is a helpful addition to the forum.
Locality: Lembeh Strait, 27ft, North Sulawesi, Indonesia, Celebes Sea, 15 September 2007, Shallow wall. Length: 1/2 inch. Photographer: Sean Kearney.
Sean Kearney
skearney@dc.rr.com
Kearney, S., 2007 (Sep 24) Okenia kendi from the Celebes Sea. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/20792
Dear Sean,
Information on newly described species is always welcome. I suspect this purple sheen on the lateral processes is ones of those tricks of light that occur when photographing some dark brownish animals, but it is certainly interesting to see it is present in all the new photos we have of this species
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
Okenia kendi from Lembeh, Indonesia
August 9, 2007
From: Mona Dienhart
Hello
Here's another nudi we encountered on one of our dives in Lembeh. I went through different books but didn't come to a conclusion. So I count on you to help me out.
I only have one shot, so I hope it's good enough to id this little nudi
Locality: Lembeh, 14 m, Indonesia, Molukka Sea, 25 April 2007, Light current. Length: 3 cm. Photographer: Mona Dienhart.
Mona Dienhart
monalisa1@ekit.com
Dienhart, M., 2007 (Aug 9) Okenia kendi from Lembeh, Indonesia. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/20162Dear Mona,
I wish all my 'only shots' turned out as good as this. It is a little known species,Okenia kendi. In fact your find is only the second report of the species since it was named in 2004 so is a useful addition to our knowledge.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
Okenia kendi (?) from Indonesia
February 18, 2006
From: Paul Whitehead
Dear Bill,
Here is another specimen that I found on the underside of a fallen leaf in Lembeh. It seems to be Okenia kendi but has colour characteristics not described in the FactSheet (i.e. this one has purple tips to the papillae)
Locality: Lembeh Straits, 15 meters, Indonesia, Sulu, Lembeh, October 2005, Found on the underside of a dead fallen leaf snagged on coral. Length: 10-15mm. Photographer: Paul Whitehead.
Paul Whitehead
enviros@envirosea.com
Whitehead, Paul, 2006 (Feb 18) Okenia kendi (?) from Indonesia. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/15855Dear Paul,
It's good to get new records of newly described species. Usually the official description is only the start of a long process in getting to know a species. I am never quite sure whether these purple tinges and patches on deep brown mat be some optical affect beyond my old physics. If you look at Pteraeolidia ianthina you will see that sometimes dark brown and purple are very noticeable and sometimes totally absent.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
