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Additional Photos
underside
shell
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Eratoena sandwichensis (G. B. Sowerby II, 1859)
Maximum size: 5.2 mm shell length.
Identification: In mature animals the mantle is cream intricately patterned with brown,
white, gold and blue. The body is translucent-cream flecked with yellow
and orange. Shells are white with diffuse brown banding. Size at
maturity is variable (4-5.2 mm shell length).
Natural history: Eratoena sandwichensis
is a moderately common species found in rocky habitats and in Halimeda kanaloana beds.
Distribution:
Big Island, Maui and Oahu: widely distributed in the Indo-Pacific.
Taxonomic notes:
It's listed in Kay, 1979, as Erato sandwicensis and in Severns, 2011 as Sulcerato sandwichensis.
Photo:
CP: near McGregor Point; Maui; Nov. 29, 2010.
Observations and
comments:
Note 1: The blue spots on an orange-gold background aren't as precisely matched to the blue and gold ocelli found in the sea hares Stylocheilus
striatus and Phycohila euchlora as are the markings in some other possible mimics.
But, perhaps they are close enough so that Eratoena sandwichensis is
still deriving some benefit from the resemblance (since the sea hares
are known to concentrate toxins from the cyanobacteria they eat)?
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