Glossodoris rubroannulata - more feeding pics

August 31, 2007
From: David Mullins

Dear Bill,

To follow my earlier message [#20602], here is a series of photos where perhaps the species is feeding on a sponge. This series is taken on the same day as the series of egg laying photos [#20606 ], but a different specimen is involved. Also as you will note both these series of photos were taken months apart from any of the photos in the very first message about this species.

Locality: Old Woman Island, Maroochydore, 12 metres, Queensland, Australia, Pacific Ocean, 3 September 2005, rocky reef. Length: 70 mm. Photographer: David Mullins.

One image [middle left] is taken from behind as it approaches its prey which may be the grey sponge partially visible to its right. The others are taken from the right side where the oral tube appears evident, spread over a grey sponge. I am ignorant of sponge identification as you are aware so I will leave this to the dabblers in the "black arts".

I once again hope I have been of assistance.

Kind regards,
David Mullins

david@nudibranch.com.au

Mullins, D.A., 2007 (Aug 31) Glossodoris rubroannulata - more feeding pics. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/20607

Dear David,
Just to enlighten other visitors to the Forum, when David sent me his first message yesterday On G. rubroannulata I found the observations so interesting that I immediately emailed him to see if he had any more. So thanks David, this ceratinly confirms it is eating the same sponge as in your other message. All I need to do is confirm its identity.

I must say I used to think indentifying sponges was a bit like 'dabbling in the black arts' especially when all those eaten by chromodorids lacked spicules, to use in identification. Fortunately Prof. Bergquist has been studying sponges longer than I have been studying nudibranchs - in fact she was one of my teachers at university - and luckily she specialises in just the sponges that chromodorids feed on, and has long been a leading advocate for the use of secondary metabolite chemistry in studying their phylogenetic relationships.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2007 (Aug 31). Comment on Glossodoris rubroannulata - more feeding pics by David Mullins. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/20607

Factsheet

Glossodoris rubroannulata

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