Nembrotha from Japan

September 7, 1999
From: Kim Redlack

Bill,

The photo image was sent to me by a lady in Japan with whom my wife and I frequently dive. She was asking us if we could identify the animal. I believe she took the photo off of Anami Island near Okinawa. I'll have to verify that for you. When looking at your Sea Slugs Forum it appeared very similar to the Nembrotha spp? I found there. I'd appreciate any comments you may have.

Thanks,

Kim Redlack
Bethesda, MD, USA

scubakim@erols.com

Redlack, K., 1999 (Sep 7) Nembrotha from Japan. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/1281

Dear Kim,
Your photo is certainly the same as one of the animals I have 'lumped' as Nembrotha spp. I am not sure if there are one, two or three species here. Yours looks like the one in the bottom left photo. There is another photo in Erwin Koehler's message from the Philippines, and in another message from Japan by Rie Nakano.

We would need to check the anatomy of the three 'species'/'colour forms' to say anything sensible.

Species of Nembrotha eat ascidians (sea squirts), usually colonial species, and most seem to have a fairly specialised diet eating only one or a very few species of ascidian. One possibly useful observation that divers could make if they find a Nembrotha on an ascidian, to take a photo. Although being 'on' something doesn't necessarily mean you are eating it. Enough photos could suggest a pattern which would be worth following up. If you look at the Erwin Koehler's photo of one of the three 'species' it seems to be feeding on a green ascidian. If the other we could get more photos of that colour form on the same ascidian, and photos of the others on different ascidians then that would certainly indicate they were probably different.
Bill Rudman.

Rudman, W.B., 1999 (Sep 7). Comment on Nembrotha from Japan by Kim Redlack. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/1281

Factsheet

Nembrotha cf. guttata

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