The original  joy of discovering this aeolid happened more in the virtual darkroom than upon discovery. I was actually hit on the head by the rock that housed the two nudibranchs documented here.  I’m not sure what their experience was prior to contact, but I’m sure it wasn’t pleasant.  The rock was no bigger than my hand, covered in algae and they were scurrying for the closest crevice. This was all in no more than 1/2 a meter of water (1.5 feet).  I knew there was a couple of tiny nudibranchs that looked somewhat aeolid-like, so I took some photos on micro setting and hoped for the best.  I was pleasantly surprised to say the least.  Look at those lovely bulbous white-tipped cerata, the pinkish tinge to their bodies and the tiny lacey bumps on their rhinophores — and their nearly transluscent horns. I love horns on nudibranchs.  That’s what makes them aeolids, but they’re also out there . . . scoping the algae, making noticeable reactions to the slightest little blip in the landscape — and that’s what drew my attention to them in the first place.    Cory Pittman and Pauline Fienes provide far more taxonomical, scientific detail on Sea Slugs of Hawaii.  Update:  the mature individual documented here was found over two years later within 100 ft of the original two, on a rock in the middle of a sandy fishpond in North Kihei.   Size — young 4 mm.  Mature 30 mm.