Cadlina cf. luteomarginata

Order: NUDIBRANCHIA
Suborder: DORIDINA
Superfamily: EUDORIDOIDEA
Family: Chromodorididae

DISTRIBUTION

Nth Atlantic, Gulf of Maine, New England, West coast of Ireland.

PHOTO

New England, USA - Atlantic coast - with 'slime sponge Halisarca. Aprox 3 cm long. Photo: Paul Young

Bleakney, 1996 considers this animal from the Atlantic coast of Nth America to be identical to the west coast species Cadlina luteomarginata MacFarland, 1966 (= C. marginata). Without anatomical information it is difficult to be sure but in colour there are differences. In C. luteomarginata the yellow mantle border is a continuous yellow line while in the east coast species there is a very diffuse line, which is sometimes absent. It appears that Lemche (in Just & Edmunds, 1985) reported this as an unnamed species, Cadlina sp. A, from Ireland.

Of interest is the apparent food of the two 'species'. Cadlina luteomarginata is reported to feed on the spiculate sponges Halichondria, Myxilla, and Higginsia. Although nothing has been reported on the food of the Atlantic 'species', Paul Young's upper photo shows an animal in an area partially covered with a thin leathery sponge which looks very like a slime sponge such as Halisarca sp., which are the preferred food of some species of Cadlina such as C. laevis. The identity of this species can only be resolved by looking at its anatomy. In the mean time I consider it appropriate to keep it separate from C. luteomarginata.

References:
• Just, H. & Edmunds, M. (1985) North Atlantic Nudibranchs (Mollusca) seen by Henning Lemche. Supplement 2, Ophelia: 1-70.
• MacFarland, F. M. (1966) Studies of opisthobranchiate mollusks of the Pacific coast of North America. Memoirs of the California Academy of Sciences, 6: 1-546.

Authorship details
Rudman, W.B., 2001 (June 25) Cadlina cf. luteomarginata [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet/cadlcflute

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