Spurilla neapolitana predator
March 31, 2008
From: Joao Pedro Silva
Dear Bill,
Last saturday me and my wife went for a nocturnal dive in Baleal. As we don't have much experience on night dives, I decided it would be better to leave the photo gear at home. Of course, animals detect the absence of such equipment and use these opportunities to show the least seen behaviors.
Before this dive I had only seen Spurilla neapolitana in the intertidal zone. They can be quite abundant in August in a particular area in Baleal and are easily found in rock pools during the low tide. This time I found two. One was crawling over a well known wreck at 8 m depth. The other was found at the end of the dive, near the beach, just 4 m deep... trapped by the chelipeds of a crab, Necora puber. No photos, I'm afraid, but my wife can provide a sworn statement.
Is there any previous record of Spurilla neapolitana being being preyed by crabs, like Necora puber?
Locality: Baleal, between 3 and 8 meters, Portugal, North Atlantic, 03 November 2007, wreckl. Length: 3cm
Best regards,
Joao Pedro
jpsilva@uwphotographer.net
Silva, J. P., 2008 (Mar 31) Spurilla neapolitana predator. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/21086Dear Joao Pedro,
Thanks for the interesting observation which is a nice addition to the nudibranch predation page. One of the reasons for starting the page was to accumulate this sort of information which is usually not published. If we looked through publications on the feeding behaviour of crabs we might find some information on any nudibranchs being eaten but it is unlikely. So trying to work back from the potential 'victim' would be impossibly time-consuming. So I can't say if anyone has recorded anything eating Spurilla neapolitana, but hopefully if anyone has any information they will let us know.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
Related messages
-
Re: Sargassum sea slugs in Gulf of Mexico [2]
From: Kathe R. Jensen, February 23, 2010 -
Sargassum sea slugs in Gulf of Mexico [2]
From: Denice Drass, February 22, 2010 -
Feeding Spurilla neapolitana from Florida
From: Linda Ianniello, July 25, 2008 -
Mystery from the Everglades, Florida, USA
From: Sophia Floyd, July 18, 2008 -
Spurilla neapolitana in Brazil
From: Daniel Pimpão, January 23, 2006 -
Mystery from St. Vincent Is, Caribbean [1]
From: Les Wilk, November 3, 2005 -
Re: Spurilla neapolitana from Gulf of Mexico [7]
From: Brian Plankis, September 10, 2005 -
Re: Spurilla neapolitana from Gulf of Mexico [6]
From: Brian Plankis, September 9, 2005 -
Re: Spurilla neapolitana from Gulf of Mexico [5]
From: Brian Plankis, August 30, 2005 -
Identity of Brian Plankis's anemone-feeding aeolid
From: Bill Rudman, August 30, 2005 -
Spurilla neapolitana from Saint-Tropez
From: Benjamin David-Testanière, August 26, 2005 -
Re: Spurilla neapolitana from Gulf of Mexico [4]
From: Brian Plankis, August 25, 2005 -
Re: Spurilla neapolitana from Gulf of Mexico [3]
From: Brian Plankis, August 20, 2005 -
Re: Spurilla neapolitana from Gulf of Mexico [2]
From: Brian Plankis, August 11, 2005 -
Re: Spurilla neapolitana from Gulf of Mexico [1]
From: Brian Plankis, August 9, 2005 -
Aeolidiella chromosoma or S. neapolitana
From: Nestor E. Ardila E., August 8, 2005 -
Spurilla neapolitana from Gulf of Mexico
From: Brian Plankis, August 8, 2005 -
Spurilla neapolitana from Portugal
From: Ana Maria Rodrigues, August 5, 2005 -
Spurilla neapolitana from Mexico
From: Juan José Alfaro M, June 1, 2005 -
Re: Phestilla melanobrachia from the Solomon Ids
From: Andrej Jaklin, July 22, 2004 -
Anemone-eating slug from Israel
From: Ami Schlesinger, December 24, 2003 -
Spurilla neapolitana? from Jamaica
From: Ross W. Gundersen, October 22, 2003 -
Spurilla neapolitana from the Bahamas
From: Colin Redfern, October 22, 2003 -
Spurilla neapolitana from Portugal
From: Joao Pedro Tojal Loia Soares Silva, August 21, 2003 -
Re: Pruvotfolia pselliotes? from Dakar [2]
From: Juan Lucas Cervera, August 12, 2003 -
Pruvotfolia pselliotes? from Dakar [2]
From: Marina Poddubetskaia, August 9, 2003 -
Solar powered sea-slug
From: Michel Barrabés, September 10, 2002 -
Solar powered sea-slug (2)
From: Michel Barrabés, September 10, 2002 -
Articles about Spurilla neapolitana
From: Daniel Pimpão, May 31, 2002 -
Spurilla chromosoma from Colombia
From: Elianny Dominguez , September 26, 2001 -
Re: Information on Spurilla neapolitana
From: Mike Raffa, September 20, 2001 -
Information on Spurilla neapolitana
From: Amar Boubes, January 2, 2001 -
Spurilla neapolitana from Colombia
From: Phanor Montoya, October 29, 2000 -
About red aeolid from Brazil
From: Carlo Magenta-da-Cunha, April 16, 2000 -
Spurilla neapolitana from Brazil
From: Carlo Magenta-da-Cunha, April 15, 2000 -
Re: Parasitic copepods on Spurilla neapolitana
From: Constantine Mifsud, October 20, 1999 -
Parasitic copepods on Spurilla neapolitana
From: Erwin Koehler, October 16, 1999 -
Spurilla neapolitana from Belize
From: Dave Behrens, October 12, 1999 -
Re: Spurilla neapolitana
From: Constantine Mifsud, September 30, 1999 -
Spurilla neapolitana from Hawaii
From: Scott Johnson, September 30, 1999 -
Re: Spurilla neapolitana photo
From: Constantine Mifsud, September 29, 1999 -
Difference between Spurilla and Berghia
From: Carlo Magenta, September 27, 1999 -
Spurilla neapolitana
From: Bill Rudman, September 27, 1999 -
Spurilla neapolitana - distribution
From: Orso Angulo, June 5, 1999 -
Here is a Spurilla neapolitana photo
From: Erwin Koehler, December 11, 1998 -
Spurilla? from Brazil
From: Carlo Magenta, December 10, 1998