Nembrotha cristata feeding from Raja Ampat
February 6, 2007
From: Mike Krampf
Dear Bill
You have asked for pictures of nudi's "doing things" so thought I'd share these pictures with you. As you can see in the first two pictures, the head of the nudi is buried in the ?? (not sure what it is).
The third picture was taken a few hundred feet down the reef where a group of Nembrotha cristata are clustered on what appears to be the same thing.
Locality: Dive Site - Tanjung Utara off Salawati island, 60 Ft, Raja Ampat, Indonesia, Banda Sea, 26 December 2006, Fringing reef. Length: 3-4 cm. Photographer: Mike Krampf.
Cheers,
Mike
mtkrampf@yahoo.com
Krampf, M., 2007 (Feb 6) Nembrotha cristata feeding from Raja Ampat. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/19177
Dear Mike,
When I first saw your photos I thought the Nembrotha were feeding on a soft coral with retracted polyps, but if you look carefully at the 'lumps' they are feeding on you will see that the greenish 'blobs' - sorry I can't think of a technical term - are arranged in pairs. I am pretty sure this is a colonial ascidian, and the paired blobs are the retracted inhalent and exhalent siphons which draw water in and pass it out of each individual ascidian. This is also a relief because species of Nembrotha normally feed on ascidians rather than soft corals.
On the Forum you will find photos of N. cristata feeding on Sigillina signifera [messages #2805, #7188] and another ascidian [#8093] which suggests it may feed on a variety of ascidians. Your photos would seem to be of a third species of ascidian. It is a valuable addition to our knowledge of the species.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
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