Caloria elegans
(Alder & Hancock, 1845)

Order: NUDIBRANCHIA
Suborder: AEOLIDINA
Family: Glaucidae

DISTRIBUTION

Known from southern British Isles to the western Mediterranean. Reported here from the Aegean Sea (Turkey).

PHOTO

UPPER: Datca, Turkey, 5m. Length approx 15mm, May 1995. LOWER: Bodrum, Turkey, 7m. Length approx 15mm, February 1998. PHOTOS: Baki Yokes.

Animal translucent clear with a white median line on the posterior foot and white pigmentation on the upper two-thirds of the tapering oral tenatcles and rhinophores. Adults from Britain have irregularly distributed small papillae on the posterior face of the rhinophores but these are usually absent in Mediterranean animals. The ceratal digestive gland duct in British material ranges in colour from pink to creamy white and in Mediterranean animals it can also be brown, orange or red. There is a very characteristic black region at the tip of the digestive gland duct and above it there is an opaque white subapical ring on the ceras, partially obscuring the cnidosac. In Britain it can reach 34mm in length but in the Mediterranean it rarely reaches 20mm.

Reference:
• Thompson, T.E. & Brown, G.H. (1984) Biology of Opisthobranch Molluscs, Vol 2. Ray Society: London.

Authorship details
Rudman, W.B., 2001 (September 24) Caloria elegans (Alder & Hancock, 1845). [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet/caloeleg

Copyright © Australian Museum, 1998-2010