The scientific name of neon-mo-umiushi was wrong — it's Costasiella fridae, not C. iridophora

The scientific name of neon-mo-umiushi was wrong — it's Costasiella fridae, not C. iridophora

Jun 4, 2026 ·

Neon-mo-umiushi — everyone's favourite Costasiella.

In Japan it has long been treated as:

Costasiella iridophora Ichikawa, 1993

But what most overseas guides have been showing as Costasiella sp. is actually a separate, undescribed species. That species has now been named:

Costasiella fridae Fernández-Simón & Moles, 2023

https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/15/2/219

It was described from the Maldives, same paper as yamanba-mino-umiushi.

So what happened?

Saccoglossa (Opisthobranchia) from the Ryukyu Islands
Saccoglossa (Opisthobranchia) from the Ryukyu Islands

The original description of C. iridophora says:

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