Hallaxa translucens Gosliner & S. Johnson, 1994

Description

Body length 20 mm, broad and rounded with a smooth notum. Background colour translucent whitish with a dense network of opaque white pigment. The gills are translucent white; the rhinophores are uniformly light brown. The branchial plume consists of 12 unipinnate leaflets; the rhinophores are bulbous with eight simple lamellae. The anterior end of the foot is curved and contains anteriorly directed folds. A short, digitiform oral tentacle is present on either side of the mouth.

Distribution

Philippines (vicinity of Luzon Island).

Etymology

The specific epithet translucens refers to the translucent appearance of the living animal.

Remarks

The white reticulate network resembles that of Hallaxa paulinae and the white form of Hallaxa cryptica, but Hallaxa translucens is distinguished externally by distinct oral tentacles (absent in the other two), brown bulbous rhinophores (vs white conical in Hallaxa paulinae) and denser white markings. Radular characters also separate it from these congeners.

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References

• Hallaxa translucens sp. nov., Gosliner T.M. & Johnson S. (1994). Review of the genus Hallaxa (Nudibranchia: Actinocyclidae) with descriptions of nine new species. The Veliger. 37(2): 155-191.
• カミカクシウミウシ（新称）, 中野理枝. (2019). 日本のウミウシ. 第二版. 文一総合出版.