So far, seven specimens of Cerberilla annulata have been found in the Marshalls, one at Enewetak and the others at Kwajalein. We assume they are all the same species, although there was some variation in color, which may be due to size. The upper two photos are of the Enewetak specimen, which measured 38mm long and was found crawling on sand at night in 3 meters of water on Enewetak's lagoon reef. The next three photos are of the first Kwajalein specimen, which was much smaller, only 20mm, and was crawling on sand at a depth of about 1 meter during the day in Kwajalein harbor. Both specimens were moved to other substrates for the photographs.
A third specimen was found on 1 September 2008 on a Kwajalein Atoll sandy lagoon reef near a Halimeda patch at a depth of 10m. This one, figured below, measured about 50mm and was similar in color to the Enewetak specimen, except that the tips of the cephalic tentacles were light gray rather than black.
The specimen below was found crawling across Halimeda algae at a depth of about 8m on a Kwajalein lagoon reef on 29 November 2011.
A 10mm specimen photographed in May 2015 off Kwajalein by Marissa Brown may be a juvenile, although the dark pigment on the lateral cerata and the complete lack of black on the middorsal cerata might suggest it is something different.
This little 3mm animal also could be a juvenile of Cerberilla annulata or possibly C. asamusiensis.
Created 8 January 2007
Updated 12 October 2015