Thorunna furtiva Bergh, 1878
- Location
- Dragon Lady, Kerama(Zamami･Amuro･Gahi･Agenashiku), Okinawa, Japan
- Date
- 2012/05/16
- Length
- 10mm
- Depth
- 5.0m
- Water temperature
- 25.0℃
Description
Alcohol-preserved specimens 10-11 mm long, 3.5-4 mm wide and 3.5-4 mm high. The ground colour is yellowish-white, with the mantle margin ornamented by a contrasting white line. Body form as in Chromodoris; oral tentacles and rhinophores typical for the group, the latter up to 1.5 mm high with about 20 lamellae and a barely raised opening rim. The dorsum is flattened with a weakly projecting margin. The gill consists of 9-10 simply pinnate leaves about 1.3 mm high; in both specimens an actual anal papilla is absent and replaced by a simple opening.Distribution
Type locality: Camiguin Island north of Luzon, Philippines. The species is now known across the Indo-West Pacific, with records from Australia, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Guam and Japan.Etymology
The specific epithet furtiva is the feminine of Latin furtivus ("stealthy, secretive, unnoticed"). The descriptive epithet alludes to the fact that members of this genus externally mimic Chromodoris entirely and were only separated as a distinct genus on anatomical characters of the buccal mass and radula.Remarks
The species was erected as the sole included species and type of the new genus Thorunna. The generic name is glossed in the original footnote as "Thorunna, daughter of Armodr" from the Old Norse Laxdaela saga.References
- Thorunna furtiva Bgh. n. sp., Bergh R. (1878). Malacologische Untersuchungen. In: Semper C. (ed.), Reisen im Archipel der Philippinen. II. Wissenschaftliche Resultate. Bd. II, Heft XIII: 547-645, Taf. LXII-LXVIII. Wiesbaden: C.W. Kreidel's Verlag.
- シノビイロウミウシ（新称）, 小野篤司. (2004). 沖縄のウミウシ. ラトルズ.
- Thorunna furtiva, Johnson R.F. & Gosliner T.M. (2012). Traditional taxonomic groupings mask evolutionary history: a molecular phylogeny and new classification of the chromodorid nudibranchs. PLoS ONE 7(4): e33479.
A Kindle field guide by the site author
Kimoto N. (2026). Sea Slugs of Japan & the Indo-Pacific, 2nd Edition.
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Photos of Thorunna furtiva
Tag:
Same Genus Nudibranchs
Similar Colors Nudibranchs
Academic Database
Sea slug observation data is available in international marine biodiversity databases.