Berthella martensi
(Pilsbry, 1896)
Order: NOTASPIDEA
Superfamily: PLEUROBRANCHOIDEA
Family: Pleurobranchidae
DISTRIBUTION
Tropical Indo-West Pacific
PHOTO
Photos showing colour variation on animals from Okinawa.
#1: Notum 58mm / from 41m; #3: Notum 24mm / from 30m; #5: Notum 25mm & 31mm / from 20m; #7: Photo only, animal not measured / from 8m. PHOTOS: Bob Bolland
This species shows a wide variation in colour, as illustrated here with Bob Bolland's photos. It is characterised by its ability to autotomise (break off) large sections of its mantle when disturbed. The brown ring visible in paler animals marks the breakage point when the animals breaks off its mantle skirt. There is a photo of an autotomised animal elsewhere in the Forum on a page dealing with autotomy.
As with other species of Berthella, this species feeds on sponges. See Clay Bryce's feeding message, and Bob Bolland's feeding photo below.
References:
• Tsubokawa, R. & Bolland, R.F. (1991). Berthella martensi (Pilsbry, 1896), new to the Japanese Notaspidea Fauna. Venus, Japanese Journal of Malacology, 50(3): 184-195.
• Willan, R.C. (1984) The Pleurobranchidae (Opisthobranchia: Notaspidea) of the Marshall Islands, Central-West Pacific Ocean. The Veliger, 27(1): 37-53.
Authorship detailsRudman, W.B., 1998 (October 28) Berthella martensi (Pilsbry, 1896). [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet/bertmart
Related messages
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Variants of Berthella martensi from Reunion Island
From: Hugues Flodrops, November 18, 2008 -
Berthella martensi feeding
From: Bruce Wilkie, October 5, 2007 -
Berthella martensi from the Seychelles
From: David K A Barnes, August 27, 2007 -
Berthella martensi - feeding observation
From: Alain BONNET, July 31, 2006 -
Berthella martensi from the Philippines
From: Carlos R. Munda, June 8, 2006 -
Berthella martensi from Taiwan
From: Ching-Yao Chan, April 15, 2006 -
Berthella martensi mating
From: Kevin Lee, February 11, 2006 -
Berthella martensi from Queensland
From: Daniel J. Foote, May 25, 2005 -
White form of Berthella martensi from Reunion Island
From: Philibert Bidgrain, May 20, 2005 -
Berthella martensi from Indonesia
From: Mike Oelrich, February 17, 2005 -
Re: Berthella martensi from Thailand
From: Erwin Koehler, December 11, 2003 -
Berthella martensi from Thailand
From: Mark Atwell & Dana Rayfield, December 8, 2003 -
Berthella martensi from Mauritius
From: Marina Poddubetskaia, November 15, 2002 -
Sea Hares? in Pulau Aur, Malaysia
From: Barbara Phua, September 30, 2002 -
Berthella martensi from Tufi, Papua New Guinea
From: Des Paroz, October 23, 2001 -
Berthella martensi from the Solomons
From: Bruce Potter, October 4, 2001 -
Berthella martensi from NE Sulawesi
From: Jim Anderson, August 10, 2001 -
Berthella martensi with tubercles
From: Mary Jane Adams, February 27, 2001 -
Autotomy in Berthella martensi
From: Mary Jane Adams, January 7, 2000 -
Berthella martensi - pics and food info
From: Bob Bolland, May 1, 1999 -
Berthella martensi - feeding observation
From: Clay Bryce, April 30, 1999 -
Re: Mystery from the Philippines
From: Erwin Koehler, April 22, 1999 -
Re: Mystery from Philippines
From: Bill Rudman, April 22, 1999 -
Mystery from the Philippines
From: Erwin Koehler, April 21, 1999