Aplysia punctata or A. parvula?

October 18, 1999
From: Erwin Koehler

Bill,
attached is a photo of Aplysia punctata from the Mediterranean, Croatia, Moscenicka Draga, March 1998, size 5 cm, depth 3 m.
This one looks different from the ones by Daniel L. Geiger (who unfortunately did not record its size).
I own only two books with descriptions of A. punctata, both in German.
They tell the adults of A. punctata to be greenish-brown with rose and/or white spots, the juveniles are said to be dark red.
At the web I found photos from Scotland and Norway looking the same way as Daniel's (red with black ornaments). Is this really the same species?

The one with a black border at the parapodes and at the foot was posted at my site as Aplysia cf. parvula http://www.medslugs.de/E/North_Sea/Aplysia_cf_parvula_01.htm

Erwin

Medslugs.Koehler@t-online.de

Erwin Koehler, 1999 (Oct 18) Aplysia punctata or A. parvula?. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/1435

Note: moved to A. parvula. See discussion. 29 April 2003.

Dear Erwin,
It's a good question. There is a photo of a similarly coloured black-edged juvenile in Seashells of Western Europe by Bouchet, Danrigal & Huyghens, identified as Aplysia punctata. Aplysia parvula, often thought of as an Indo-West Pacific species, is considered by Eales (1960) to have a circum-global distribution. It has recently been reported a number of times from the Mediterranean and southern Britain. A. punctata and Aplysia parvula are the sole members of the subgenus Pruvotaplysia and so have many features in common. Externally, the main difference is said to be the black border in Aplysia parvula which is absent in A. punctata. Internally the main difference, according to Bebbington & Brown (1975), is that there are two penial retractor muscles in Aplysia parvula and one in A. punctata.

However Bebbington (1977) in a discussion of A. parvula, stated that he had re-examined Mediterranean specimens with the typical black markings of Aplysia parvula and found that they had the single penial retractor muscle characteristic of A. punctata! He concludes that 'these animals may be colour variants or may be hybrids and further investigation will have to be made'.

I can only agree with Bebbington's comment that further studies are required. It doesn't make for a tidy solution, but I guess that's what makes biology interesting. I think I will leave Daniel's photo where it is at present but make a note about the problems.

If anyone who has studied field populations of A. punctata can throw any light on the subject please do. Perhaps some juveniles have a black border which is lost as they grow?

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.

•Bebbington, A. (1972) Aplysiid species from Malta with notes on the Mediterranean Aplysiomorpha (Gastropoda, Opisthobranchia). Pubblicazione Stazione Zoologica di Napoli 38 (for 1970): 25-46.
•Bebbington, A. (1975) On a collection of Aplysia species from Naples with a note on the distribution of Aplysia parvula (Gastropoda, Opisthobranchia) in the Mediterranean. Pubblicazioni Stazione Zoologica di Napoli 39: 121-128.
•Bebbington,A. & Brown,G.H. (1975) Aplysia parvula Guilding in Morch, an opisthobranch new to the British fauna. Journal of Conchology, 28: 329-333
•Bebbington, A. (1977): Aplysiid species from Eastern Australia with notes on the Pacific Ocean Aplysiomorpha (Gastropoda: Opisthobranchia). Transactions of the Zoological Society of London, 34: 87-147.
•Bouchet, P., Danrigal, F. & Huyghens, C. (1979) Sea Shells of Western Europe. American Malacologists: Melbourne, Florida. (translated by B. Picton).

Rudman, W.B., 1999 (Oct 18). Comment on Aplysia punctata or A. parvula? by Erwin Koehler. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/1435

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