OKINAWAN
OPISTHOBRANCH OF THE WEEK
Berthellina citrina (Ruppell & Leuckart, 1828) 21mm
Opisthobranch of the Week Data
Taxonomy:
- Order: NOTASPIDA
- Family: Pleurobranchidae
Frequency on Okinawa:
Collection Data:
- Individual Collection No: RFB #2934-A
- Location: Seragaki, Okinawa (26o 30.4'N, 127o 52.6'E)
[Horseshoe Cliffs, Seragaki, Sesoko]
- Date: 28 February, 1992 [Jun '87, Dec '88, Jan '89(2), Feb '89, Mar '89,
Apr '89, Feb '92, May '92, Mar '93]
- Depth: 5ft (1.5m) [5ft, 10ft, 10ft, 10ft, 20ft, 20ft, 140ft, 160ft, 160ft,
180ft]
- Water temperature at collection depth: Not recorded
- Size: TL 21mm [15mm, 18mm, 19mm, 21mm, 21mm, 23mm, 25mm, 28mm, 29mm, 30mm]
- Specimen deposited: RFB Personal Research Collection
[brackets indicate range for all Okinawa-collected specimens of the species]
Species Account:
Berthellina citrina is considered to be common on Okinawa. I've collected ten individuals and photographed perhaps twice that many, but I've seen many others which were neither photographed nor collected. This brightly pigmented notaspid is one of the most commonly encountered opisthobranch mollusks found here. The animals are frequently
found in pairs beneath coral rubble in shallow water.
Copyright © 1999 Robert F. Bolland
Digitally manipulated photo
