Phyllodesmium serratum from Port Phillip Bay, Victoria

October 10, 2005
From: Marc Saunders

I found this little fellow (15 mm) in about 2 meters of water under the Mornington Pier, Port Phillip Bay, Victoria. I've not seen his kind before and would like to know if he is in fact Phyllodesmium serratum.

Locality: Mornington Pier, Port Phillip Bay. Victoria. Australia. Depth: 2 m
Length: 15 mm. 24 September 2005. Photographer: Marc Saunders

Marc Saunders

marc@irm.net.au

Saunders, M., 2005 (Oct 10) Phyllodesmium serratum from Port Phillip Bay, Victoria. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/14866

Dear Marc,
These photos came at a good time, as they are a good comparison for Sue Newson's animals [#14934] from Jervis Bay. Yours are indeed Phyllodesmium serratum. The pinkish coloured digestive gland ducts in the cerata, and the white line down the back are characteristics of this species. It is also one of the species of the genus which is NOT solar powered and so does not have any of the adaptations needed for zooxanthellae symbiosis, such as branching digestive gland in the cerata, flattened cerata, and branches of the digestive gland in the body wall. Like all species of Phyllodesmium, however it lacks cnidosacs at the thip of the cerata, instead having a layer of glandular secretory cells in the ceratal wall around the tip of each ceras. This can be seen as a white area in the close-up photo [lower right].
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2005 (Oct 10). Comment on Phyllodesmium serratum from Port Phillip Bay, Victoria by Marc Saunders. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/14866

Factsheet

Phyllodesmium serratum

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