Verconia varians (Pease, 1871)
12mm

Rare in the Marshalls, Verconia varians is so far known at Kwajalein Atoll from only about five specimens. The first three photos were taken by Christina Sylvester in about 1.3m of water on the lagoon side of Kwajalein's north point. Specimens from Hawaii look a bit different, and I'm not sure if they are really the same. This is another of those species that continually wiggles its gills.

They appear to be feeding on thin yellowish sponge between the points of dead coral.

The next four photos below are of a specimen found under a rock on the western seaward reef. One of the earlier specimens measured 12mm.

The four photos below were taken with an old film camera.

Created 19 December 2005
Updated 14 September 2020

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