Elysia cf. timida? from Southern Bahamas

February 20, 2004
From: Marina Poddubetskaia


Dear Bill,
During my week in the Southern Bahamas with Anne DuPont, I've also found this very nice Elysia which looks similar to Elysia cf. timida on the Forum. I don't know if it is the same species, but it looks rather different from the Mediterranean Elysia timida :
• the rhinophores are papillate and not smooth
• the body and parapodia are papillate and not smooth too
• the red dots are smaller

So, I don't think it is Elysia timida, but I could be wrong. Could you identify this guy ? Is it another mystery to be studied ?

Also, please find attached the algae photo (2 different species) on which I found this specimen crawling. They include Acetabularia sp.(?) alga which is the food of the Mediterranean Elysia timida.

Date: February 03, 2004
Location: Great Exuma, Bahamas, Western Atlantic
Site: Stocking Island, Hole n°2
Depth: 1m
Size: 15mm
Photos: Marina Poddubetskaia - Nembro website

Cheers,
Marina.

nembro@nembro.info

Poddubetskaia, M., 2004 (Feb 20) Elysia cf. timida? from Southern Bahamas. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/12257

Dear Marina,
I tend to agree that externally it looks different from typical Mediterranean E. timida. You will no doubt have read Kathe Jensen's message [#3515] where she discusses whether the Mediterraneam and Caribbean are colour variants of the same species, or whether there are two very similar species, perhaps with wide overlapping distributions. Your animals fit the original description of Elysia cornigera Nuttall, 1989 very well. However Ortea et al (1997) consider it to be a synonym of E. timida. Looking at Anna Bass's photo [#3410] of a small damaged? specimen with bright red spots, it is possible that E. timida and E. cornigera are different, but related, species, both feeding on the alga Acetabularia in Caribbean waters.

As you say, I guess this is another mystery, still to be studied.
Best wishes
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2004 (Feb 20). Comment on Elysia cf. timida? from Southern Bahamas by Marina Poddubetskaia. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/12257

Factsheet

Elysia cf. timida

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