Halgerda carlsoni Rudman, 1978
- Location
- Horse Shoes, Okinawa Island (Onna and Yomitan area), Okinawa, Japan
- Date
- 2015/02/15
- Length
- 40mm
- Depth
- 35.0m
- Water temperature
- 20.0℃
Description
A medium-sized dorid with a high body. The dorsum is thrown into sharply angled ridges arranged in a reticulate pattern; at each ridge junction a high pointed tubercle rises, and smaller tubercles are scattered along the ridges. The ground colour is a watery translucent white, the purplish-brown of the viscera showing through in the central region. Densely packed small bright red spots cover the dorsum, giving the background a pinkish tinge. The nipple-like tip of each tubercle is bright red and surrounded by a ring of bright white. The mantle edge is bright white with regularly spaced large red tubercles interspersed with one to three smaller bright red spots. Underside of mantle, sides and sole of foot white; foot has a thin orange-red border; tips of the white oral tentacles bright red. Rhinophores long and tapering, the club very small with few lamellae. Six sparsely pinnate gills, yellowish with black spots. Holotype 40×35 mm preserved.Distribution
Type locality: Suva Harbour, Fiji (Admiralty Is., Bay of Islands, depth 10-20 ft on a vertical reef). Widely distributed throughout the tropical Indo-West Pacific.Etymology
The specific epithet carlsoni honours Bruce Carlson (then of the School of Natural Resources, University of the South Pacific, Fiji), who supplied the original describer with Fijian opisthobranch specimens and field photographs over several years.Remarks
The distinctive white-ringed bright red tubercles make this species instantly recognisable among Indo-Pacific Halgerda. The Japanese vernacular name "Konpeitou-umiushi" likens the dorsal tubercles to konpeitou (Japanese star-shaped sugar candy).References
- コンペイトウウミウシ（仮称）, 益田一. (1999). 海洋生物ガイドブック. 東海大学出版会.
- オシャレコンペイトウウミウシ（仮称）, 小野篤司. (1999). ウミウシガイドブック. TBSブリタニカ.
- コンペイトウウミウシ, 鈴木敬宇. (2000). ウミウシガイドブック〈2〉. TBSブリタニカ.
- Halgerda carlsoni Rudman, 1978, Donohoo S.A., Villalobos S.G., Hallas J.M. & Gosliner T.M. (2023). Hyperdiversity of the genus Halgerda Bergh, 1880 (Nudibranchia: Discodorididae) with descriptions of fourteen new species. Marine Biodiversity. 53(3): 42. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-022-01334-9
A Kindle field guide by the site author
Kimoto N. (2026). Sea Slugs of Japan & the Indo-Pacific, 2nd Edition.
Kindle Edition
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Photos of Halgerda carlsoni
Tag:
Same Genus Nudibranchs
Similar Colors Nudibranchs
Academic Database
Sea slug observation data is available in international marine biodiversity databases.