Cyerce katiae K. Moreno, Gosliner, N. G. Wilson, Krug & Á. Valdés, 2025
- Location
- Oosaki Hanagoi Reef, Ishigaki and Yaeyama, Okinawa, Japan
- Date
- 2017/02/15
- Length
- 8mm
- Depth
- 38.0m
- Water temperature
- 24.0℃
Description
Body light grey to cream, with dark grey lines forming a polygonal, web-like pattern across the dorsum. Head light grey with web-like striations, two gold patches near the base, and small gold spots on the forehead. Rhinophores long, bifurcated, translucent light grey with minute white specks along the margins. Oral tentacles share the same colour pattern and are ventrally located. Cerata lobate and inflated, translucent light grey, marked with the same dark grey polygonal striations as the dorsum. Silvery white pustules sit at the centre of each polygon and cluster near the cerata margins; small gold to dark yellow spots are scattered across the surface. Cerata become larger toward the posterior, and the anteriormost ones lack the grey lines. The cerata margin is outlined in grey with gold spots, and conspicuous, probably defensive gland sacs lie beneath. The type specimen measured about 12 mm preserved length.Distribution
West Pacific. The type locality is Romblon Province, Philippines.Etymology
Named in honour of Kati Eschweiler, the diver who first found the species in Romblon and brought it to the attention of Terry Gosliner.Remarks
Described as new in 2025 during a phylogenetic revision of the genus Cyerce. Specimens previously figured as Cyerce sp. 4 in earlier reference works belong to this lineage. Molecular phylogeny places Cyerce katiae sister to a clade containing Cyerce nigricans and Cyerce takanoi; among these, Cyerce katiae is the only species with a body-wide grey polygonal web pattern. Diet remains unknown.References
- アミメウロコウミウシ（新称）, 小野篤司. (2004). 沖縄のウミウシ. ラトルズ.
- Cyerce sp. 5, Terrence Gosliner, Ángel Valdés and David Behrens. (2015). Nudibranch and Sea Slug Identification Indo-Pacific. New World Pubns Inc.
- アミメウロコウミウシ, 中野理枝. (2018). 日本のウミウシ. 文一総合出版.
- Cyerce katiae sp. nov., Moreno K., Medrano S., Gosliner T.M., Wilson N.G., Krug P.J. & Valdés Á. (2025). Phylogenetic systematics of the genus Cyerce (Mollusca: Heterobranchia: Sacoglossa: Caliphyllidae) from the Pacific and Indian oceans with descriptions of nine new species. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 204(1): zlaf030. https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaf030
Featured in this book
Terrence Gosliner, Ángel Valdés and David Behrens. (2018). Nudibranch and Sea Slug Identification Indo-Pacific 2nd Edition. New World Pubns Inc.
New World Publications
This species, Cyerce katiae, is included in the book.
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Photos of Cyerce katiae
Same Genus Nudibranchs
Similar Colors Nudibranchs
Academic Database
Sea slug observation data is available in international marine biodiversity databases.