Dendronotus rufus eggs - starfish predation

February 9, 2007
From: Jan Kocian


I found a congregation of Dendronotus rufus on rocks beneath a seawall, some were laying eggs. The area is overrun by the starfish Pycnododia
helianthodes and I spotted some of the D. rufus eggs under one of the sea stars. I peeled the star off and found another star also involved in the undesirable activity.

Locality: Whidbey Island,Puget Sound, 18 feet, Washington, USA, Puget Sound, NE Pacific Ocean, 19 January 2007, rocks. Length: 170 mm. Photographer: Jan Kocian.

Jan Kocian

honkoc@hotmail.com

Kocian, J., 2007 (Feb 9) Dendronotus rufus eggs - starfish predation. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/19288

Dear Jan,
Thanks for the interesting record - and for the photos of D. rufus. We don't have many records of predation on nudibranch eggs, apart from aeolids of the genus Favorinus, so any new observations are welcome. Thanks also for the cartoon of the brave diver trying to save the eggs

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2007 (Feb 9). Comment on Dendronotus rufus eggs - starfish predation by Jan Kocian. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/19288

Factsheet

Dendronotus rufus

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