OKINAWAN
OPISTHOBRANCH OF THE WEEK

Opisthobranch of the Week Data:

Taxonomy:

        Phyllidiopsis pipeki is considered to be rare on Okinawa. I've collected only four individuals over a good many years of diving here. In addition to the four collected specimens, I've photographed five others. It's perhaps interesting to note that all individual animals (both collected and those only photographed) were found between 140 and 180ft (43-55m). In David Brunckhorst's (1993) description of the species, he reports that the material he examined was found between 10 and 25m; possibly the sponges these animals prey on are found in deeper waters on Okinawa than other areas of the tropical/subtropical Indo-West Pacific Ocean.

        There are two other described phyllidiid nudibranchs on Okinawa which can be confused with Phyllidiopsis pipeki, both belonging to a separate genus, Phyllidiella granulata and P. rudmani, but the relatively large white-tipped pink tubercles as well as the two meandering black horizontal lines on the dorsum of P. pipeki immediately identify this attractive animal.

Etymology:

Literature Cited: