Okenia cf. barnardi from Ratnagiri, India.
January 20, 2010
From: Vishal Bhave
Dear Bill
Single specimen seen and collected. I am bit doubtful on its identity,
I also contacted R.C. Willan through mail and he responded
"The white Okenia is possibly O. barnardi, but the colours on the mantle, rhinophores and gills are different (very pale semi-transparent white instead of brown), the papilla in front of the gills appears to be significantly larger, and the tips of the lateral papillae seem more inflated. So, like you have done, I would call it Okenia cf. barnardi. That is until you find another specimen and then can assess if it shows features that intergrade with true O. barnardi."
Locality: Mandavi, Ratnagiri, 48 centimetres, Maharashtra, India, Arabian sea, 29 December 2009, Intertidal, rockpool. Length: 12 mm. Photographer: Vishal Bhave.
Vishal Bhave
vishalbhave@gmail.com
Bhave, V.J., 2010 (Jan 20) Okenia cf. barnardi from Ratnagiri, India.. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/23048
Dear Vishal,
I would agree with Richard's tentative identification. Of course if we are thinking of this animal as having lost the brown pigmentation usually found in O. barnardi then we have to think of similar looking species such as Okenia virginiae and Okenia kendi which would also look quite white without their brown pigmentation.
As Richard suggests we will need to wait until a few more specimens turn up - hopefully with a little more colour to give us some clues
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
Related messages
-
Okenia barnardi laying eggs in Korea
From: Dong Bum Koh, February 4, 2005 -
Radula of Okenia barnardi
From: Bill Rudman, December 21, 2004 -
Okenia barnardi from Japan
From: Yukari Sato, November 25, 2003 -
Okenia barnardi from Hong Kong
From: Bill Rudman & Brian Darvell, January 12, 2002 -
Okenia barnardi from Hong Kong
From: Bernard Picton , January 12, 2002 -
Food of Okenia barnardi in Hong Kong
From: Bernard Picton , January 12, 2002
