Abstract
SINCE the publication of a paper1 describing Pellibranchus cinnabareus as a new genus and species of non-pelagic nudibranch mollusc, Dr. Nils H. J. Odhner, of the Riksmuseet, Stockholm, has pointed out to me that Pellibranchus is a synonym of Okadaia Baba2. Okadaia contains small nudibranchs less than 5 mm. in length, limaciform, head and foot not carinate ; rhinophores simple, contractile, without sheaths ; mouth slit-like ; gills absent ; anus and nephroproct opening slightly to the right of the middorsal line, about a third of the way back from the head ; genital orifices obliquely in front of the anus on the right side of the body ; jaw plates absent ; radula formula, 3, 0, 3 ; liver divided into three or four lobes ; true heart not enclosed in a pericardium ; gonads consisting of two or three testes and five or six ovaries ; development is direct. These are the characters of the nudibranch described in my paper, and Pellibranchus is clearly a synonym of Okadaia which now contains Okadaia elegans Baba, 1930, the type from Japan, and Okadaia (= Pellibranchus) cinnabareus (Ralph, 1944) from New Zealand.
Similar content being viewed by others
Article PDF
References
Ralph, Patricia M., Trans. Roy. Soc. N.Z., 74 (1), 24 (1944).
Baba, K., Annot. Zool. Japan, 13 (2), 63 (1931).
Baba, K., Jap. J. Zool., 7 (2), 147 (1937).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
RALPH, P. Synonymy of the Nudibranch Genera Pellibranchus and Okadaia. Nature 161, 528 (1948). https://doi.org/10.1038/161528b0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/161528b0
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.