Hallaxa indecora? from American Samoa

September 13, 2003
From: Don Barclay


Hello Bill,
While attempting to sort my Samoan photos, I came across this one that I had never gotten around to identifying. It looks to be Hallaxa indecora, although it has quite a few white specks on the mantle, particularly around the margins and a ring of white specks around the base of the rhinophores. I don't see any white on Atsushi's animal, but it seems to be otherwise identical. There appear to be a few scattered spots on Bernard Picton's animal.

I found this one on my last snorkeling trip in Samoa, a few meters from where the Chromodoris albonares was found, about 1700 local time on 25 August 2001. It was on the edge of a dead coral slab in less than one meter of water, ~200 meters west of Onesosopo Point, east Pago Pago Harbor, American Samoa. It measured about 15mm, until it had been in the aquarium a couple of hours, when it flattened and stretched to around 20mm.

The body on this animal was fairly stiff, and it was the slowest-moving true nudibranch I've ever observed.
Cheers,
Don

barclay@txucom.net

Barclay, D., 2003 (Sep 13) Hallaxa indecora? from American Samoa. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/10412

Thanks Don,
I am afraid I have trouble with some of these species of Hallaxa. I agree from the bulbous rhinophores and 'cup-shaped' gill circlet that this is most probably a species of Hallaxa, but I can't say much more. As you suggest, it has similarities to Hallaxa indecora, but it also has similarities to the dark form of Hallaxa cryptica. Perhaps Terry Gosliner can help us out. I have put another photo of this animal in a separate message.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2003 (Sep 13). Comment on Hallaxa indecora? from American Samoa by Don Barclay. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/10412

Factsheet

Hallaxa indecora

Related messages

  1. Re: Hallaxa indecora from American Samoa
    From: Terry Gosliner, September 16, 2003
  2. Hallaxa indecora? from American Samoa (2)
    From: Don Barclay, September 13, 2003
  3. Hallaxa indecora from Hong Kong
    From: Bernard Picton , May 8, 2002
  4. Hallaxa? from Kerama Islands
    From: Rie Nakano, April 20, 1999
  5. Re: Hallaxa indecora from Kerama Ids
    From: Terry Gosliner, April 20, 1999

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