Pelagella scottjohnsoni is usually less common than P. joubini but has been found at Enewetak and Kwajalein Atolls, usually under rocks on lagoon reefs and pinnacles. Christina Sylvester found 30 or more specimens in shallow water on the lagoon side of Kwajalein Island in the summer of 2017, possibly indicating a good settling. A specimen from Kwajalein is figured in Gosliner et al (2018) as Goniodoris sp. 2.
The next three photos show the holotype from a Kwajalein Atoll lagoon reef in a patch of Halimeda algae. It was first observed on the colonial tunicate shown in the first photo. It was found 4 July 2009 at a depth of 22m, and was a large one measuring 17mm in length.
The next specimen is one of the paratypes and was found under a rock on a Kwajalein Atoll lagoon pinnacle at a depth of about 6m on 6 June 2010.
Here is a more distant shot of a pair under a rock on a Kwajalein Atoll lagoon pinnacle from 11 July 2011. One of these was also a paratype of the new species.
The pair below is uncertain. The right one is certainly Pelagella scottjohnsoni while the larger one on the left has atypical dark blotches.
Created 3 January 2007
Updated 22 May 2023