Hermania orca (Gosliner, 1988)
Description
A very small cephalaspidean reaching only about 5 mm in body length. Ground colour is milky white scattered overall with irregular black blotches — a striking pattern reminiscent of an orca whale, the source of the specific name.The posterior mantle bears a pair of short, blunt-tipped tail processes of equal length. A pair of eyes can be seen near the front of the cephalic shield. The shell is internal and not visible externally.
Distribution
Widespread across the Indian and central Pacific Oceans. Recorded from Aldabra Atoll, Madagascar, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, the Philippines, Midway Atoll, Japan (south of central Honshū), Hawaii and the Galápagos. The species occurs on coral-reef-associated sand-rubble bottoms and on fine sand among macroalgae.Etymology
The specific epithet orca is Latin for the killer whale (Orcinus orca), in reference to the slug's black-and-white pattern resembling that of the cetacean.Remarks
Members of Hermania Monterosato, 1884 are small cephalaspideans typically found in interstitial environments of sand-rubble substrates around coral reefs.References
- Hermania orca (genus Hermania), Monterosato T.A. di (1884). Nomenclatura generica e specifica di alcune conchiglie mediterranee. Palermo: Stabilimento Tipografico Virzì. 152 pp.
- モンガラキセワタ, 奥谷喬司. (2000). 日本近海産貝類図鑑. 東海大学出版会.
- モンガラキセワタ, 中野理枝. (2004). 本州のウミウシ. ラトルズ.
- Philine orca, Terrence Gosliner, Ángel Valdés and David Behrens. (2015). Nudibranch and Sea Slug Identification Indo-Pacific. New World Pubns Inc.
- Philine orca, Terrence Gosliner, Ángel Valdés and David Behrens. (2018). Nudibranch and Sea Slug Identification Indo-Pacific 2nd Edition. New World Pubns Inc.
- モンガラキセワタ, ヒョウモンキセワタ（新称）, 中野理枝. (2019). 日本のウミウシ. 第二版. 文一総合出版.
- Hermania orca, Gosliner, T. et al. (2023). Southern African Sea Slugs. Southern Underwater Research Group Press, 7 Blackwood Drive, Hout Bay 7806, Cape Town, South Africa.
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, Hermania orca, is included in the book.
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Similar Colors Nudibranchs
Academic Database
Sea slug observation data is available in international marine biodiversity databases.