Imagawa 2026 Sea Slugs of Okinawa: new Japanese vernacular names proposed

On 6 July 2026 Seibundo Shinkosha releases Sea Slugs of Okinawa: An Updated Identification Guide Based on DNA Analysis, 1,089 Species by Imagawa. The book proposes new Japanese vernacular names for sea slug species recorded from Okinawan waters, along with new Japanese names for higher taxa (genera, subfamilies, families, superfamilies).

Unlike earlier Japanese sea slug guides, every name proposal in this book is anchored to a voucher specimen and a COI barcode. Each name is paired with a deposited specimen and a DNA sequence, making the resulting nomenclature reproducible and traceable rather than resting on external morphology alone.

For non-Japanese readers

• The new names are Japanese vernacular katakana (many drawn from Okinawan culture, cuisine, and folklore) and do not translate meaningfully into English. The taxonomic anchor remains the scientific binomial, not the Japanese name. The full list of names is on the Japanese version of this post.
• The book is currently Japan-only: no Kindle edition, no Amazon US listing. Non-Japanese readers wanting a copy will need to special-order from Japan.

Over the coming weeks we will reflect adopted names into individual species pages and run a follow-up series taking up each new vernacular name one by one — the species it anchors to, the type material, the distribution, and how it relates to any pre-existing Japanese or English name.