Edenttellina pseudochloris (Kay, 1964)

Description

A tiny bivalved sacoglossan, with a thin and laterally compressed pair of hinged shells. The shell outline is oval to triangular: rounded and bulging at the anterior (ventral) end and tapered toward the posterior end. The umbo lies anteriorly; the dorsal (hinge) margin is gently arched and almost straight, while the ventral margin is slightly flattened. The shell surface is plain, without distinct markings or spots. The body is green due to algal sequestration, with small white spots scattered on the head and neck.

Distribution

Originally described from material collected near Koloa Landing, Kauaʻi, Hawaii. Subsequently reported across the Indo-West Pacific coral-reef belt, including the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Australia, Indonesia, and Japan (Amami-Oshima, Okinawa).

Etymology

The specific epithet pseudochloris is a Greek-Latin compound of pseudo- ("false") and chloris — the specific epithet of the closely related eastern Pacific species Edenttellina chloris — meaning "the one resembling, but not, chloris".

Remarks

Feeds primarily on the green alga Caulerpa racemosa. Despite its bivalved appearance the species is a gastropod (Sacoglossa); development is planktotrophic.

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References

• Berthelinia pseudochloris n. sp., Kay E.A. (1964). The Aplysiacea of Hawaii [or related Berthelinia paper]. Including: Berthelinia pseudochloris n. sp., pp. 191-193, fig. 1, pl. 9 figs 1, 4.
• Edenttellina pseudochloris, McCarthy-Taylor J.B., Krug P.J., Muro S., Vendetti J., Maestrati P., Wong N.L.W.S., Gosliner T.M. & Valdés Á. (2025). The slug within the bivalve: molecular and morphological systematics of the family Juliidae (Gastropoda: Panpulmonata: Sacoglossa). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 204(2): zlaf056. https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaf056