Forms of Pteraeolidia ianthina

December 10, 1999
From: C. Carlson & P.J. Hoff

Bill,

Have you seen a Pteraeolidia ianthina of this color form? I found quite a number in Yap --usually a bit larger than the 'normal' colored forms in the same area.

Details: 65mm; Yap, Goofnuw, 12m; 1 June 1994

The white forms were found on the walls of Goofnuw channel on the north-east coast of Yap. 'Normal' colored forms were in the same area, though generally slightly smaller.

Clay & Patty Jo

clay.carlson@kuentos.guam.net

Carlson, C. & Hoff, P.J., 1999 (Dec 10) Forms of Pteraeolidia ianthina. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/1649

Dear Clay & Patty Jo,
I have a theory that the colour forms with a lot of opaque white are usually associated with white coral sand or rock. If this is so, I also think that camouflage is not the sole reason for the colour pattern. I think that as with Plakobranchus ocellatus, the white pigmentation cuts down the intensity of the sunlight reaching the endosymbiotic zooxanthellae so that their plastids are not 'burnt-out' by too much sunlight and so continue to photosynthesise. It's just my pet theory and I think it would be a good little hypothesis for a physiologist to test experimentally.

I assume the white in your animals is a skin pigment which masks the brown of the zooxanthellae, while the white of juvenile animals is caused by the absence of skin pigmentation and the absence of zooxanthellae.

One problem with the theory is that if the pigmentation is genetically controlled how do the larvae choose the right colour background when they settle? Or perhaps larvae don't travel very far and populations of white animals have gradually built up in 'white environments' - or perhaps it's all a load of rubbish!

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.

Rudman, W.B., 1999 (Dec 10). Comment on Forms of Pteraeolidia ianthina by C. Carlson & P.J. Hoff. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/1649

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