Trapania euryeia is uncommon in the Marshalls and has been found at Enewetak and Kwajalein Atolls. All but one were found on under rocks on lagoon pinnacles or on the seaward reef at depths of 6 to 18 meters, or were exposed on entoproct-covered sponge at night. The exception came from a depth of 1 meter from a man-made quarry on the Enewetak Island reef flat. Sizes ranged from 3 to 10mm and possibly a little larger. Younger specimens tend to have distinct light dots throughout the dark brown areas and light to orange oral tentacles; the dots fade and the tentacles become white blotched with brown as animals grow. Even specimens under rocks by day are usually found near the small entoprocts that make up their diet. The specimen in the two photos below came from a Kwajalein Atoll lagoon pinnacle under a dead, sponge-encrusted fungiid coral at a depth of about 7m on 6 June 2010.
The next five show an individual from a southern Kwajalein Atoll lagoon pinnacle, under a rock on 1 March 2015.
The next three photos were taken at Enewetak Atoll between 1981 and 1983.
The specimen below was small and had slightly orange colored oral tentacles.
This one was found at night on red sponge containing entoprocts that coated some dead Millepora coral on a Kwajalein lagoon pinnacle.
The next shot shows an animal with an egg mass, and prey entoprocts are visible on the red sponge at the bottom.
A small specimen also on sponge loaded with prey entoprocts.
The individual in the photo below had more brown pigment that most of the others.
The next few shots show a large (but unmeasured) individual under a rock feeding on entoprocts covering a red sponge. This was in about 6m of water on the lagoon side of Ennubuj Island. I'm pretty sure this one exceeded the 10mm upper size limit at the top of this page.
This photo contains two different species of Trapania found under adjacent rocks. The larger is a T. euryeia with mostly white pigment. The smaller is Trapania squama.
A few more from Kwajalein.
Sponge covered with entoprocts.
Created 3 January 2007
Updated 7 November 2021