Placida cf. dendritica from Port Phillip Bay, Victoria

June 22, 2006
From: Trevor McMurrich

Hi Bill,

This little nudi was floating in the current. I caught it and place it on the sand to get a photo. I was wondering of you could identify it for me?

Locality: Governor Reef, Indented Heads, 3 metres, Victoria, Australia, Port Phillip Bay, 18 June 2006, drifting in the current. Length: 12 mm. Photographer: Trevor McMurrich.

Kind Regards,
Trevor McMurrich

trevm@aanet.com.au

McMurrich, T.B., 2006 (Jun 22) Placida cf. dendritica from Port Phillip Bay, Victoria. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/16906

Dear Trevor,
Although this looks quite like an aeolid nudibranch it is in fact a sacoglossan. While both are 'sea slugs', sacoglossans are herbivores while all nudibranchs are carnivores. With few exceptions, sacoglossans feed by piercing the cell wall of particular algae [sea weeds] and sucking out the cell contents. In some species, like this one, the green chloroplasts from the plant are retained alive in the animal's digestive system, where they continue to photosynthesise, providing a plant-like solar powered way of life for the slug. The green specks and network in the body are microscopic branches of the difetive system where the chloroplasts are stored. It is an interesting coincidence that today I am also posting a message on a solar-powered nudibranch [#16890 ] which has a quite different approach to solar-powered life.

At present we can't give you a good name for this species, as there are similar-looking species all around the world which are still being studied to determine just how many species there are. At present we are just calling it Placida cf. dendritica

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2006 (Jun 22). Comment on Placida cf. dendritica from Port Phillip Bay, Victoria by Trevor McMurrich. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/16906

Factsheet

Placida dendritica?

Related messages

  1. Placida dendritica in northern NZ
    From: Ian Skipworth, January 10, 2007
  2. Placida dendritica in northern New Zealand?
    From: Ruth Armour, January 9, 2007
  3. Placida cf dendritica and eggs
    From: Rachel Przeslawski, April 11, 2003
  4. Placida? from Japan
    From: Nishina Masayoshi, April 27, 2002
  5. Sacoglossan Placida dendritica
    From: Shauna Spano, April 14, 2001
  6. Re: Placida cf. dendritica from Sydney
    From: Cynthia Trowbridge, March 26, 2000
  7. Placida cf. dendritica & hypodermic insemination
    From: C. Trowbridge, March 26, 2000
  8. Placida cf. dendritica from Sydney
    From: Stephanie Clark, March 23, 2000
  9. Placida? from Japan
    From: Yasuhiro Shirai, February 16, 2000

Show factsheet and all related messages