Thorunna speciosus from Okinawa

April 13, 1998
From: Robert F. Bolland

Dear Bill:

The sea slug forum is a terrific idea and I'm very impressed with everything I've seen at the site.

Here is one of two .jpg files of separate Thorunna(?) species from here on Okinawa. I'm afraid that both of the photos are of very poor quality, but thought there might be enough here for at least a tentative identification(?).

Thorunna species #2 (TL: 8mm) was collected on 27 April, 1995 from Seragaki, Okinawa. It was found at 3m on the underside of a slab of coral rubble in an area composed primarily of mixed silty-sand/coral rubble. This looks very similar to your T. speciosus. This is the only one I've seen here as well.

Cheers,
Bob
Robert F. Bolland
Okinawa

bolland@imicom.or.jp

Robert F. Bolland , 1998 (Apr 13) Thorunna speciosus from Okinawa. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/132

Your animal certainly looks very similar, but the broad whitish band around the edge of the foot wasn't present in Australian material. The only way to be certain would be to look at the internal anatomy and to look at a series of animals to see just how much colour variation there is. As with Thorunna montrouzieri, if yours is the same species then it is an extensive increase in its known distribution....Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 1998 (Apr 13). Comment on Thorunna speciosus from Okinawa by Robert F. Bolland . [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/132

Factsheet

Thorunna speciosus