Roboastra europaea? from Senegal

July 17, 2003
From: Marina Poddubetskaia

Dear Bill,
I found this mysterious nembrothid near Dakar. It makes me think of Roboastra europaea, but also it seems different from the usual colour forms.

Date: June 04, 2003
Location: Senegal, Eastern Atlantic
Site: Gouye teni M'bot
Depth: 22m
Size: 95-100mm
Photos: Marina Poddubetskaia - Nembro website

Best wishes,
Marina.

nembro@nembro.info

Poddubetskaia, M., 2003 (Jul 17) Roboastra europaea? from Senegal. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/10374

Note added 15 July 2006: This species has now been named Tambja haidari

Thanks Marina,
Have you a photo that shows the head more clearly? I am not if there is a long oral tentacle in front of its right rhinophore [the left one in photo] which would suggest it is a species of Roboastra, or whether its a fold of the mantle edge. I suspect its a species of Tambja but if so I don't recognise it. I am sure Lucas Cervera will be able to help us with an identification.

It is possibly the animal that Pruvot-Fol (1927)identified from the Atlantic coast of Morocco (1927) as Nembrotha diaphana Bergh 1877. Pruvot-Fol's animal was 'yellow-sulphur with grey violet lines' when alive. However it is unlikely that an animal from West Africa could be Bergh's Nembrotha diaphana which is based on a tropical Pacific specimen which lacked any information on its living colour. All we can say from Bergh's anatomical description is that Nembrotha diaphana is a species of Tambja.

• Bergh, L.S.R. (1877) Malacologische Untersuchungen. In: C.G. Semper, Reisen im Archipel der Philippinen, Wissenschaftliche Resultate, 11: 429-494, Pls.54-57.
• Pruvot-Fol,A (1927) Sur quelques mollusques nudibranches de la cote atlantique de Maroc, recoltes principalement par MM. J. Liouville et R. Ph. Dollfus. Bulletin de la Societe des Sciences Naturelles et Physiques du Maroc, 7(13): 39-49. (Pl. 5)

Best wishes
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2003 (Jul 17). Comment on Roboastra europaea? from Senegal by Marina Poddubetskaia. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/10374

Factsheet

Tambja haidari

Related messages

  1. Re: Roboastra europaea? from Senegal
    From: Marina Poddubetskaia, July 18, 2003

Show factsheet and all related messages