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.
Hirano, Y.J., 2000 (April 5) Sakuraeolis gerberina Hirano, 1999. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/sakugerb
Related messages
Sakuraeolis gerberina from Japan
July 20, 2007
From: Jon Ellis
Hello Bill,
Thought you might like some additional pictures of Sakuraeolis gerberina. They were taken at Kaiyoukoun (IOP) in Izu, at the very end of the second point, at about 35 m. It was interesting to see them clustered on this one hydroid with Protaeolidiella atra, and its egg ribbons. On account of the depth I wasn't able to hang around for long and get all the pictures I wanted. However, I did return a month or so after these pictures were taken, and they were still there...
Locality: Kaiyoukouen, 35 m, Shizuouka, Japan, Pacific, 20 May 2007, Ocean facing outcrop at base of steep drop-off. Length: 75 mm. Photographer: Jon Ellis.
Cheers
j.
ashura666@yahoo.com
Thanks Jon,
It's always good to get photos of these species which live on and eat the hydorid Solanderia.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
Sakuraeolis gerberina from Sth Korea
April 24, 2003
From: Dong Bum, Koh
Dear Bill,
Here is a photo of an aeolid I regard to be Sakuraeolis gerberina. It was taken at Bum islet in Jeju on 16 April 2003.
For your Forum.
Photographer: Dong Bum, Koh
Best regards,
Dong Bum, Koh
drkoh@seasee.co.kr
Thanks Dong Bum,
The hydroid it is on seems to be Solanderia, which is the food of Sakuraeolis gerberina. The colour is a little different from the photos from Japan we have on the Forum, but I suspect it just a colour variation
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
Sakuraeolis gerberina from Japan
September 21, 2001
From: Nishina Masayoshi
Dear Dr.Rudman,
Sakuraeolis gerberina is common but usually found in deeper places down to about 20m.
These animals were photographed at Shibasaki Hayama, Japan, 4 Aug 2001.
Depth: 8m,
Size: 30mm.
Comment: Common here
Upper Photo: Nishina Masayoshi
Lower Photo: Nishina Chikako
Best Regards,
Nishina Masayoshi
nishina@hpe15.wips.co.jp
Nishina, M., 2001 (Sep 21) Sakuraeolis gerberina from Japan. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/5023Dear Nishina & Chikako,
Thanks for these interesting photos of S. gerberina. Dr Yoshi Hirano says that this species feeds and lives on colonies of the hydroid Solanderia misakiensis. Would you know if this is the hydroid in your photos?.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
'Sakuraeolis modesta' from Japan
April 7, 2000
From: Yoshi Hirano
Dear Bill,
Thank you very much again for all your kind help with the manuscript of my recently published paper on two new species of Sakuraeolis from Japan.
Here are photos of the two species, Sakuraeolis gerberina (UPPER) and Sakuraeolis sakuracea (LOWER) with photos of their radulae. Unfortunately I did not record the collecting date. They are from Kominato, Boso Peninsula, 3 meter deep, from the hydroid Solanderia misakiensis.
I have still not found specimens which fit Bergh's S. modesta, with which these two new species have been confused.
Thank you for wonderful forum!!
Best wishes,
Yoshi.
Reference: Hirano, Y.J. (1999) Two new species of Sakuraeolis from Japan. Venus, Japanese Journal of Malacology, 58(4): 191-199.
hiranoyj@earth2.s.chiba-u.ac.jp
Hirano, Y., 2000 (Apr 7) 'Sakuraeolis modesta' from Japan. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/2216Dear Yoshi,
Thanks for the great photos and congratulations on your recent publication. It is useful to be able to add recently described species to the Forum so we can all find out about them.
I have included below some background information on the two species from your paper. See the individual species' pages [S. gerberina and S. sakuracea] for further photos, and a separate page where the radular teeth of the two species are compared.
Notes from Hirano (1999):
"Two aeolid species with different color patterns have been previously identified as Sakuraeolis modesta (Bergh, 1880). This studv shows that neither is S. modesta, and both are new species of Sakuraeolis, S. gerberina and S. sakuracea. Both species, which have been found on the hydroid Solanderia misakiensis (Inaba), are described and illustrated".
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.
