Selection: Okenia kondoi

Okenia kondoi (Hamatani, 2001) [Sakishimaia]

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Okenia kondoi is characterised by whitish dorsal appendages with the distal third coloured red. Four pairs of appendages are symmetrically arranged along the dorsal margin, a single appendage being present in the midline in front of the branchial gills.Okenia kondoi animal is pink or red with rhinophores and branchial gills of the same colour. Okenia kondoi feeds on the bryozoan Tropidozoum cellariforme.
Very similar is Okenia nakamotoensis. They can be distinguished by the number of dorsal appendages: Okenia kondoi has four pairs, Okenia nakamotoensis has five pairs.
It was placed by Hamatani in the genus Sakishimaia, according to "Gosliner, T. M. (2004) Phylogenetic Systematics of Okenia, Sakishimaia, Hopkinsiella and Hopkinsia (Nudibranchia: Goniodorididae) with descriptions of new species from the tropical Indo-Pacific. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, 55: 125-161" I changed the genus Sakishimaia to Okenia.
More informations on Okenia kondoi are at Bill Rudman's Sea-Slug Forum!