Re: Information on Ercolania fuscovittata

April 12, 2005
From: Cynthia Trowbridge

Dear Bill and Mike,
I just came across this message [#13234] about "Ercolania" fuscovittata. I am unclear why it is listed as Ercolania as this was described as Stiliger by Lance (1962). Not all Stiliger spp. were shifted to Ercolania spp. The radular teeth shown in Fig. 3 of the species description are not Ercolania sabot-shaped teeth.

Details about the species (feeding, distribution, etc.) are compiled in:

• Trowbridge, C.D. 2002. Northeastern Pacific Sacoglossan Opisthobranchs: Natural History Review, Bibliography, and Prospectus. The Veliger, 45: 1-24.

Please note that Lance's original photo of this species was shown with a red alga in the background (Microcladia coulteri) ... but not one of the two genera that the species actually does eat (Polysiphonia and Callithamnion ). For more detailed information about this species, please refer to Trowbridge (2002) or an unpublished MSc thesis:

• Case, R.M. 1972. An ecological study of Stiliger fuscovittata (Mollusca: Opisthobranchia). M.A. Thesis, San Francisco, CA. 76 pp.

In my review, I mention the hypothesis of anthropogenic introduction (p. 5) for this species. I apologize for not having photos available but hopefully someone else will.

Cordially,
Cynthia

trowbric@onid.orst.edu

Trowbridge, C.D., 2005 (Apr 12) Re: Information on Ercolania fuscovittata. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/13436

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