OKINAWAN
OPISTHOBRANCH OF THE WEEK

Opisthobranch of the Week Data

Taxonomy:

        Phyllodesmium poindimiei is considered to be rare on Okinawa as I have seen and collected a total of seven individuals, since collecting the initial specimen in April of 1992. All collected specimens came from the same collection site, Tengan Pier, from near the base of heavily encrusted concrete pilings supporting the pier.

        Rudman (1991) points out the general similarity in external shape between that of P. poindimiei and P. serratum, and he suggests the two animals can be separated by a number of external characters, several of these characters are as follows:

The cerata of P. poindimiei are longer and less numerous and the post-cardiac cerata are arranged in a series of single vertical rows rather than the arches found in P. serratum . . . and the absence of a median white dorsal line in P. poindimiei.

        Here's a photo link to the orange telestacean soft-coral (Carijoa sp.) which P. poindimiei is thought to feed upon (Rudman, 1991, 2000).

        As of this date (mid-July, 2001) there are ten described Phyllodesmium species found here in the waters of Okinawa. The ten species are:

Literature Cited: