Nudibranchs of Pohnpei, Caroline Islands,
Federated States of Micronesia

Pohnpei is a few hundred miles west of the Marshall Islands. It is a high island surrounded (mostly) by a barrier reef enclosing a lagoon filled with shallow coral reefs. The lagoon tends to be a bit turbid from run-off from the high island, so much of the diving takes place in passes in the barrier reef, where clear ocean water flows in and out with the changing of the tides. Diving here makes an interesting change from the low atoll islands in the Marshalls, and it is not too far away, so we've made a number of trips down there to seek and photograph slugs we don't find in the Marshalls. This is by no means an exhaustive treatment of Pohnpei nudibranchs; we have only scratched the surface of what is there. Likewise, it is hard to say too much about the biology and distribution of species from even a half dozen or so week-long trips. (Anyone else find it odd how some researchers can make sweeping statements and come to such definitive conclusions from a 2-week environmental survey? Heck, I can't be as certain as some of the reports I've seen even after more than 20 years in the Marshalls!)

All our diving in Pohnpei has been through The Village Hotel, a great place to stay in general but also with its own dive shop that employs some eagle-eyed nudibranch-aware dive guides. And yes, there are many other fascinating photo subjects in the Pohnpei marine environment--manta rays, sharks, eagle rays, swirling schools of barracuda, angelfish, anemones and clownfish, gorgeous soft corals, and on and on--but we'll leave those for another time and place.

No attempt has been made here to put the species into taxonomic order. We may do that in the future if the list gets too long from addition of more species. We will be returning to hunt for more!

Aegires gardineri
Aegires minor
Aegires serenae
Ardeadoris egretta
Chromodoris annae
Chromodoris coi
Chromodoris elisabethina
Chromodoris geometrica
Chromodoris kuniei
Chromodoris magnifica
Chromodoris strigata
Discodoris concinna
Flabellina rubrolineata
Halgerda tessellata
Hypselodoris decorata
Nembrotha cristata
Nembrotha kubaryana
Nembrotha lineolata
Phidiana indica
Phyllidia carlsonhoffi
Phyllidia coelestis
Phyllidia elegans
Phyllidia exquisita
Phyllidia madangensis
Phyllidia ocellata
Phyllidia tula
Phyllidia sp. p359
Phyllidiella granulata
Phyllidiella pustulosa
Phyllidiopsis burni
Phyllidiopsis fissurata
Phyllidiopsis striata
Platydoris scabra
Pteraeolidia ianthina
Reticulidia fungia
Tambja morosa

Higher resolution copies of photos on this site for publication or prints suitable for framing are available for a fee. Contact uwkwaj@yahoo.com for more information.

In-Depth Images Kwajalein is Scott and Jeanette Johnson.