OKINAWAN
OPISTHOBRANCH OF THE WEEK
Nakamigawaia sp. 1 (largest of six: 8mm)
Opisthobranch of the Week Data
Taxonomy:
- Order: CEPHALASPIDEA
- Family: Aglajidae
Frequency on Okinawa:
Collection Data:
- Individual Collection No: RFB #3854-A
- Location: Seragaki, Okinawa (26o 30.4'N, 127o 52.6'E) [Manza Beach Hotel Dive Site, Seragaki]
- Date: 20 March, 2001 [Jul '89, Apr '90, Jun '92, Mar '01]
- Depth: 10ft (3m) [5ft, 10ft, 10ft, 10ft]
- Water temperature at collection depth: 73oF (23oC)
- Size: TL 8mm [5 less than 8mm, 8mm, 8mm, 9mm]
- Specimen deposited: RFB Personal Research Collection
- Photo Data: Digital film
[brackets indicate range for all Okinawa-collected specimens of the species]
Species Account:
Nakamigawaia sp. 1 is considered to be rare on Okinawa's main island; nine specimens have been collected (six of the nine were simultaneously collected) and several others have been seen, but neither photographed nor collected. The above featured animals were collected from the surface of a large patch of sand, amid numerous fragments of coral rubble. Like other darkly pigmented opisthobranchs, Nakamigawaia sp. 1 doesn't lend itself to being photographed particularly well, resulting in the above image without much detail. This could possibly be Nakamigawaia spiralis Kuroda & Habe, 1961, but I'm unable to make this determination at the present time.
Page Date: 06 Oct '03
Page Modification Date: 06 Oct '03
Digitally manipulated photo
Copyright © 2003 Robert F. Bolland
