Flabellina browni from Devon, southwest Britain

June 30, 2006
From: Louise Bailey

Dear Bill

This series of photographs was taken at the mouth of the Salcombe Estuary in Devon, southwestern Great Britain. It was on some scattered wreckage (the wreck of the Soudan) at a depth of approximately 20m. The wreckage was heavily covered in Tubularia hydroids, and there were very many specimens of this nudibranch in a range of sizes from approx 12 mm to 24 mm.

There was much evidence of spawn and spawn coils can be seen in the photograph. My confusion over ID lies with the fact that there are obviously many lookalikes and I can't find reference to this type so far south in the UK?

Locality: Salcombe , 20 metres, Devon, Great Britain, Atlantic Ocean, 14 June 2006, Steel wreckage on a white sandy bottom. Tidal location. Estuary mouth.. Length: 20 mm. Photographer: Caroline Hutton.

Best regards
Louise

louise@thegirls.plus.com

Bailey, L., 2006 (Jun 30) Flabellina browni from Devon, southwest Britain. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/17017

Dear Louise,
There are certainly a few look-alikes in this genus, and you really need to know the shape and colour of the head and its various tentacles, the colour of the cerata, and the presence, if any, of coloured (or white) lines on the body. My guess is that this is Flabellina browni, which is one of the Tubularia-feeding species.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2006 (Jun 30). Comment on Flabellina browni from Devon, southwest Britain by Louise Bailey. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/17017

Factsheet

Flabellina browni

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