134 
: 
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ft 
: ■ At 
■ 0 
HP d 
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K 
Fig. 16. Aeolidia edmondsoni n. sp., ventral aspect 
(X 5.6) and papilla (greatly enlarged). 
Oral tentacles a little shorter than rhino- 
phores, more pointed, of same color, arising 
anterolaterally on dorsal surface of oral shield 
near its margin. Oral shield broad, as wide as 
foot, rounded anteriorly. Branchial papillae 
numerous and arranged in crowded obliquely 
transverse rows, which fall away gracefully 
from the middorsal line in a posterolateral 
direction. There are 12 or 13 rows, each con- 
taining about 14 on the anterior half of the 
body, the number gradually decreases pos- 
PACIFIC SCIENCE, Vol. IX, April, 1955 
teriorly, to only a few very small ones. The 
papillae are flattened and have many eleva- 
tions and other irregularities on their proximal 
portions, and terminate distally in a nipple 
tipped with canary yellow. At the base of the 
nipple there is usually a collar of opaque 
white, and various tubercles of the same color 
occur over the proximal portion, otherwise 
pellucid. The central body (probably a liver 
process) of the papilla is olive green with 
numerous stubby branches, and terminates 
abruptly at the yellow cap of the nipple. In 
reduced light the papillae appear to be brown- 
ish or olive green, in normal light they are 
conspicuously transparent. Foot transparent 
white, rather broad, truncate anteriorly with 
rounded obtuse angles, tapering posteriorly 
from middle of body to a point. Yellowish 
viscera appearing through mid-region, and 
branchial papillae clearly visible through thin 
margins of foot. Mouth appearing on ventral 
side of oral shield as a longitudinal slit partly 
concealed by anterior margin of foot. Narrow 
middorsal region of body exposes between 
branchial papillae a pale pelucid green with 
minute white flecks similarly to rhinophores 
and oral tentacles. Eyes, minute and close 
together, located posterior to base of rhino- 
phores. Cardiac swelling located in middorsal 
region between branchiae, about one third 
the distance from anterior end of body. 
Length of body 25 millimeters, greatest 
width 12 millimeters. 
The holotype (U.S.N.M. 574932), which 
is here described and figured, was found in 
shallow water near the Hawaii Marine Lab- 
oratory at Waikiki in April, 1922, by C. H. 
Edmondson. Two more specimens were found 
the following year near the Elks Club, Wai- 
kiki. The animals were on a living colony of 
the coral Porites compressa , on the polyps of 
which they appeared to feed. Many of their 
egg structures were also attached to this coral. 
A description and figures of spawn and 
veliger stage are given in Ostergaard (1950: 
110), referred to as Aeolidia sp. 
I have named this species for Dr. C. H. 
