This was a common species on a number of reefs around Oahu, and was also seen at Puako, Hawaii, and at Kure Atoll. On Oahu, they could be found under rocks on shallow reefs such as those at Kewalo Basin and Fort Kam, and they were also common at night in ledges and caves at Makua and Pupukea to depths of about 15m. The ID is tentative. Specimens we have seen in the Marshalls, Indonesia (Bali) and the Philippines (Anilao) consistently have much smaller pustules on the mantle than the Hawaiian specimens.
This pair from Fort Kam Reef had just set down an egg mass.
Created 20 April 2009
Updated 29 May 2009