Tom Davis, Australien
Info
Okenia harastii was discovered and described in 2014 in the somewhat colder waters of the Tasman Sea, east coast of Australia near New South Wales.
You have to have very good eyes to even notice this small nudibranch in the water, and several species of the former genus Okenia live around New South Wales alone:
Okenia zoobotryon (Smallwood, 1910) : new Bermudella zoobotryon (Smallwood, 1910)
Okenia harastii Pola, Roldán & Padilla, 2014 new:; Bermudella harastii (Pola, Roldán & Padilla, 2014)
Okenia pilosa (Bouchet & Ortea, 1983) new: Ceratodoris pilosa (Bouchet & Ortea, 1983)
Okenia purpurata Rudman, 2004 new: Bermudella purpurata (Rudman, 2004)
Okenia vena Rudman, 2004 new: Bermudella vena (Rudman, 2004)
Okenia stellata Rudman, 2004 new: Ceratodoris stellata (Rudman, 2004)
Bermudella harastii (Pola, Roldán & Padilla, 2014) feeds on the bryozoan Zoobotryon and also lays its fertilized eggs on the bryozoan, where they can be recognized as small white threads.
The slug has a light brown body with scattered dark brown and white spots of different sizes, and six pairs of translucent mantle processes.
On the Seaslug World site there are photos of a species that is referred to there as Okenia harastii, the photos are from Gerombong, Tulamben, Pulau Bali, Indonesia, but we are not sure if this ID is correct as Bermudella harastii is said to be endemic to New South Wales.
Etymology:
The species "harastii" was named for Ehmen by Dr. Dave Harasti, underwater photographer and marine biologist.
has a light brown body with scattered dark brown and white spots of different sizes, and six pairs of translucent mantle processes
You have to have very good eyes to even notice this small nudibranch in the water, and several species of the former genus Okenia live around New South Wales alone:
Okenia zoobotryon (Smallwood, 1910) : new Bermudella zoobotryon (Smallwood, 1910)
Okenia harastii Pola, Roldán & Padilla, 2014 new:; Bermudella harastii (Pola, Roldán & Padilla, 2014)
Okenia pilosa (Bouchet & Ortea, 1983) new: Ceratodoris pilosa (Bouchet & Ortea, 1983)
Okenia purpurata Rudman, 2004 new: Bermudella purpurata (Rudman, 2004)
Okenia vena Rudman, 2004 new: Bermudella vena (Rudman, 2004)
Okenia stellata Rudman, 2004 new: Ceratodoris stellata (Rudman, 2004)
Bermudella harastii (Pola, Roldán & Padilla, 2014) feeds on the bryozoan Zoobotryon and also lays its fertilized eggs on the bryozoan, where they can be recognized as small white threads.
The slug has a light brown body with scattered dark brown and white spots of different sizes, and six pairs of translucent mantle processes.
On the Seaslug World site there are photos of a species that is referred to there as Okenia harastii, the photos are from Gerombong, Tulamben, Pulau Bali, Indonesia, but we are not sure if this ID is correct as Bermudella harastii is said to be endemic to New South Wales.
Etymology:
The species "harastii" was named for Ehmen by Dr. Dave Harasti, underwater photographer and marine biologist.
has a light brown body with scattered dark brown and white spots of different sizes, and six pairs of translucent mantle processes
