Glaucus atlanticus mating habits

January 29, 2007
From: Johanna Schwartz

Great site! Very informative.

I am currently doing some research for a documentary film and was wondering where I could find more information on the mating habits of these blue ocean slugs.

Am I right in thinking that even though they posses both male and female organs, they are unable to fertilise their own eggs? They have to mate with each other in order to reproduce, correct?

I have seen footage of two slugs balled up with their penis' out. The commentary talked about the slugs trying to bite each other's penis off. I haven't seen anything about this on your site though. I'd like to know more.

Which leads me to one further thought: do they prefer to do the fertilising rather than be fertilised, i.e. be male instead of female?

Many thanks!
Johanna Schwartz

johanna_schwartz@hotmail.com

Johanna Schwartz, 2007 (Jan 29) Glaucus atlanticus mating habits. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/19328

Dear Johanna,

As you'll see from some of the observations in the accompanying messages, Glaucus has a reputation for taking a cannibalistic bite every now and then, but I don't know of any research to show that it makes a special point of eating a potential partners' penis. See my comment to message #8233, for a photo of the penis. All nudibranchs are hermaphrodite, and yes they don't appear to self-fertilise their eggs.

Concerning a preference for being male or female. In nudibranchs, the male and female genitalia are situated together, so mating is usually reciprocal, both partners acting as male and female simultaneously. In related sea slugs, such as the Sea Hares, the penis is at the front of the body while the female opening is quite a distance back, so in a mating pair one acts as male and the other female. However if you look at the Mating Chains Fact Sheet you will see that sea hares often mate in large group chains, so most also act as both male and female at the same time.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2007 (Jan 29). Comment on Glaucus atlanticus mating habits by Johanna Schwartz. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/19328

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