Observations on Elysia viridis

October 1, 1999
From: Andy Horton

I found the discussion on Elysia viridis to be interesting. The popular literature in the UK states that this sacoglossan feeds on Codium. However, rock-poolers soon realised that it was unlikely that this was its sole diet, as it had been frequently been discovered where Codium was absent. I caught a very small specimen of Elysia viridis in a prawn net at Old Fort, Shoreham-by-Sea (near Brighton), Sussex, in an outer estuarine (full salinity) tide pool of the River Adur (English Channel).

This particular shore is dominated by Fucus serratus and Mussel beds, Mytilus edulis. There is a possibility that the green seaweeds Ulva and Enteromorpha are present, but they would need searching for. However, I have discovered the green algae Cladophora grows on Fucus serratus. This would seem its most likely food plant.

On another occasion I have discovered 4 juvenile specimens of E. viridis in Whelk, Buccinum undatum, egg cases, but I do not suspect they were feeding on the egg cases.

None of the juvenile specimens I have discovered on the Sussex coast have had any spots. They were a lime green colour, but the tinge varied under different lights.

The photograph is by Robert Jones of Trowbridge, England, of another small specimen from Dorset (English Channel).

Andy Horton

bmlss@compuserve.com

Horton, A., 1999 (Oct 1) Observations on Elysia viridis. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/1386

Dear Andy,
Determining the food of even the most common species can sometimes be more difficult than it seems. For a number of years I puzzled over the food of the common eastern Australian Rostanga arbutus. Clearly a sponge feeder, it was commonly found crawling over brown algae in tide pools, with no sign of a likely sponge food. It was only after taking a crowbar and geological hammer with me to crack open layers of the sedimentary rock that I found its food, a shade-loving bright orange red sponge Clathria aceratoobtusa. At the other end of the scale are animals which are always associated with an improbable food, but have never actually been seen eating, such as the gastropterids which are often found on sponges, but seem ill-equipped to eat them.

Bill Rudman.

Rudman, W.B., 1999 (Oct 1). Comment on Observations on Elysia viridis by Andy Horton. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/1386

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