Pericelis? A
top photo: Napili Bay, Maui. 15 ft.
2nd photo: detail of head region
other photos are captioned

Elongated oval body; whitish with dark brown mottling that coalesces into loose transverse clumps or bands; two inconspicuous dotlike tentacles near anterior margin, connected to same by a shallow crease or furrow; cerebral eyes in two elongate rows. The tentacle structure resembles that on some species of Pericelis.

This worm is pictured in Reef and Shore Fauna of Hawaii, section 2, plate 2.I.6c, captioned: "Undet. Acotylea: Kewalo, Oahu, intertidal under rocks. 25-30 mm". We believe that the determination "Acotylea" is an error, as this worm has marginal tentacles.

This worm also loosely resembles Acotylean 13 on Newman & Cannon CD.

BACK to mottled or speckled

photo by Scott Johnson, Kewalo, O`ahu. size: 28mm


small specimen collected at Lana`i Lookout, O`ahu

elongated 30 mm specimen from Kapalua Bay, Maui < 14 ft. Cory Pittman