Haminoea callidegenita

This little snail is not a nudibranch per se, but a member of a larger group called the opisthobranchs. It possesses a reduced but still partially visible shell. There are several species, some of them native to our coast and the Bay itself. Haminoea callidegenita was described in 1989 from two localities in Washington state. It has subsequently been reported from the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean, giving us reason to believe that this species has a propensity to invade estuaries at our latitude. In fact, it could be yet another introduction from Asian waters as it has characteristics similar to those of species found around Japan. Without a revision of the Japanese species, it is possible that H. callidegenita is not the correct name for this species. Regardless, it is now known from only two marinas near Brisbane, and we are trying to track its possible spread.