Another record of Polycera hummi from Florida

NOTE added 13 Feb 2004: This is Polycera aurisula. See #12196.

Dear Linda,
Your messages always come up with little surprises. I agree that this is almost certainly a juvenile of P. hummi. I suspect the distance between the blue and yellow banding, and the absence of the inner blue band is because the animal is so small, but I guess it will be worth checking on if you come across the species again.

Then most interesting thing in your message is the bryozoan. I am not an expert on bryozoans but I am pretty sure this is Amathia distans Busk, 1886, which has a circumtropical distribution and is a common in the western Atlantic. It is found from North Carolina to Brazil. The way the zooids are arrange in slightly curved double rows is typical of the species. There is an illustration on the Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce website at
www.sms.si.edu/irlspec/Amathi_distan.htm

You may remember in my discussion of Okenia evelinae that I noted that Marcus reported it feeding on Amathia convoluta. My understanding is that true A. convoluta is a South Pacific species so it is quite possible that Marcus's record is a misidentification for Amathia distans. Your bryozoan is quite different from Zoobotryon which has almost transparent stalks and irregularly arranged zooids. The exciting thing is that you found a specimen of the animal I have identified as Okenia evelinae on this bryozoan, which certainly adds weight to my suggestion that it is distinct from Okenia zoobotryon which has only been reported from the bryozoan Zoobotryon.

Best wishes
Bill Rudman