Elysia pratensis
Ortea & Espinosa, 1996

Order: SACOGLOSSA
Superfamily: ELYSIOIDEA
Family: Elysiidae

DISTRIBUTION

Caribbean, tropical west Atlantic

PHOTO

Lark Cay, Belize. Note yellow egg ribbon. Photo: Jaff Hamann.

A relatively elongate species of Elysia ranging in colour from green to a yellowish green with a pattern of pale longitudinal lines all over body and parapodia. Sometimes the lines are accentuated by the presence of alternating vrown lines. Scattered over the parapodia are raised, unbranched, whitish papillae. Along the parapodial margin the papillae appear as a series of white swellings visible inside and out. The rest of the inside of the parapodia is dark green. There is a black line along the parapodial margin. Grows to about 20mm long. Colin Redfern (2001) notes that the late Kerry Clark considered this species to be a colour form of Elysia subornata Verrill, 1901.

Reference:
• Ortea, J. & Espinosa, J. 1996. Descripcion de una nueva especie del genero Elysia Risso, 1818 (Opisthobranchia: Sacoglosa) recolectada en Puerto Morelos, Mexico. Avicennia, 1996, 4/5: 115-119.
• Redfern, C. 2001. Bahamian Seashells: A Thousand Species from Abaco, Bahamas. Bahamianseashells.com, Inc: Boca Raton, Florida. x + 280 pp., 124 pls. [Plate 116, fig. 675]

Authorship details
Rudman, W.B., 2002 (January 20) Elysia pratensis Ortea & Espinosa, 1996. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet/elysprat

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