Hallaxa iju Gosliner & S. Johnson, 1994
- Location
- Tengan(Kombu), Okinawa Island (East coast), Okinawa, Japan
- Date
- 2015/06/25
- Length
- 4mm
- Depth
- 5.0m
- Water temperature
- 28.0℃
Description
Body length 6-8 mm, elongate and ovoid; reddish-brown to black. Small, scattered opaque white spots are situated on small tubercles distributed over the notum and on the basal third of the gills. Opaque white pigment covers the distal two-thirds of each rhinophore and the distal 5-9 of its 9 lamellae. The branchial plume consists of 8-10 unipinnate leaflets; the bulbous rhinophores bear 5+ lamellae. The foot is somewhat curved anteriorly. A short, triangular oral tentacle is present on either side of the mouth.Distribution
Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, Okinawa, and the Philippines.Etymology
The specific epithet iju is the Marshallese word for "star," referring to the stellate appearance of the rhinophores when viewed from above.Remarks
Hallaxa iju is immediately recognizable among Hallaxa by the distinctly pigmented margins of the rhinophoral lamellae. Within the genus, only Hallaxa atrotuberculata shows similarly pigmented rhinophoral lamellae, but Hallaxa iju lacks distinct tubercles and is also separated anatomically.References
A Kindle field guide by the site author
Kimoto N. (2026). Sea Slugs of Japan & the Indo-Pacific, 2nd Edition.
Kindle Edition
View on Amazon PR (Amazon Associates)Seasonality
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Photos of Hallaxa iju
Tag:
Same Genus Nudibranchs
Similar Colors Nudibranchs
Academic Database
Sea slug observation data is available in international marine biodiversity databases.