Dulcerana affinis (Broderip, 1833)
63mm
Dulcerana
affinis is a
very common species in the Marshalls, living in a variety of reef habitats throughout
the atolls. It is most often found under rocks on hard substrates. Color of
the shell ranges from dark to light. Although long considered Bursa granularis,
recent molecular data indicates that there are in fact four similar species.
By shell characteristics, D. granularis and D. affinis are
difficult to tell apart. Our determination of these as D. affinis is
based primarily on location. D. granularis is currently considered
to be distributed from the Red Sea and East Africa to the Western Pacific, including
Australia and the Philippines but not Micronesia. D. affinis ranges
throughout the tropical Pacific, overlapping with D. granularis in
the west.
The specimen below was found eating
the arm of a brittle star.
This one was on an egg mass.
Created 10 August 2010
Updated 21 March 2022
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