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Hancockia sp. 1
Photo's courtesy of Jim Black
The pics were taken at "Aljui Bay" ..Raja Ampat, West Papua(Irian Jaya)
Nikon D300...105mm lens...and supermacro adaptor.
Estimated size 12 mm
Copyright 2010
Hancockia sp. 1 (undescribed)
A truly great shot of this undescribed species of Hancockia by Jim Black . Belonging to a strange little group of dendronotinids all species have interesting rhinophores which are pulpit shaped with a lobate sheath that ends in a rounded club. This can be easily seen in Jim's photo above. Recent taxonomic studies on the suborder, Dendronotina have cast some doubt on whether this group constitutes a single natural group or represents a collection of similar but unrelated, smaller groups. The body color varies from green to brown, but always has the white network of lines. See page 324 in Indo-Pacific Nudibranchs and Sea Slugs for the green variant. There are four to five pairs of lateral appendages on the body. These are often confused as the gills, but careful inspection reveals the actual branched gill tufts medial to these. Again, Jim,'s photo shows these perfectly. The frontal veil has a series of thin tapering processes. The eye is not functional, but an evolutionary promise to come. Below it we find a developing optical nerve, but no retina and cornea. Members of this genus feed on hydroids.
Nice find Jim!
Gig Harbor, Washington
Dec., 2010
Send Dave email at DavidWBehrens@gmail.com(New email address for Dave)
Frontal view of Handockia sp. 1
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Jim Black on location in Thailand with friend
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Jim is retired from US Airways after 27 years as a pilot..., flying Captain on an Airbus 330 Internationally. Diving since 1970...with over 5200 dives logged. Shoots Nikon D-300 in Subal Housing with Ikelite strobes. Macro Mate on 105mm for supermacro Jim's photography has been featured in a number of books and publications including Helmut Debelius' Nudibranchs and Sea Snails of Gosliner, Behrens and Williams Coral Reef Animals of the Indo-Pacific, and more recently Paul Humann and Ned Deloach's Reef Creature Indentification Guide. A photo of Jim petting a shark in "Sleeping Shark Caves" off Isla Mujeres Island, Mexico, taken by Amy Foster his significant other, recently appeared in Dave Behrens' Diving Guide to Cozumel, Cancun & The Riviera Maja. Send Jim email at jim.black14@verizon.net Jim has been a solid supporter of the Slug Site since day one. His countless contributions put him near the top of the list of photographers who have greatly expanded our knowledge of sea slugs. There are a lot of kids in the formative stage of their education who are getting their first introduction to our sea slug friends via the great photographs Jim and other contributors have made to the site. My hat is off(again) to Jim for making this presentation possible! |
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