Re: Doto cf. bella from New Zealand
September 6, 2005
From: Ian Skipworth
Hi Bill
Attached are two photos of the Doto which you've previously identified for me [#12956]. These are much better photos than my previous one and show the slug amidst the stuff on which I think it feeds. They're small and well camouflaged but their tiny egg masses are bright yellow in colour and help to locate the slugs. I would guess that they're fairly common and now that I'm a little more aware of their habitat and appearance I think I'll find a lot more of them.
Locality: Poor Knights Islands, northeastern New Zealand. Depth: 6 m. Length: 7 mm. 20 August 2005. Rocky reef. Photographer: Ian Skipworth
Cheers
Ian
ian@ianskipworth.com
Skipworth, I., 2005 (Sep 6) Re: Doto cf. bella from New Zealand. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/14615
Dear Ian,
These photos certainly throw a completely different light on this animal. Firstly there dark colour is clearly not black but purple. It is definitely not Doto bella which was described as having a black spot at the tip of each ceratal tubercle and a blackish median band on the head the head. In your animal there is a purple spot with a surrounding purplish tinge at the tip of each tubercle, there is a purple border along the edge of the head, and a purple border around the rhinophore sheaths. As far as I can tell it is an unnamed species, which I'll add to the Forum as Doto sp. 10.
If you have photos showing the eggs I would like to add them if possible.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
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