Sea slug with paddles?
November 30, 2007
From: Annabelle Sandes
Hello Bill,
This slug was found on a gravelly sand substrate on a sandbank in Deception Bay on the mid North Kimberley Coast, Western Australia, exposed on a low spring tide. At high tide, the sandbank is 10 m underwater. The animal was wriggling around and was one of two found on the extensive sandbank.
Size was approximately 15 cm.
Locality: Sandbank, Deception Bay, 10 m, Western Australia, Indian Ocean, 1 September 2007, sandbank. Length: 15 cm. Photographer: Annabelle Sandes.
Please help me to identify it.
Kind regards,
Annabelle Sandes
dingoprincess@bigpond.com
Sandes, L. A., 2007 (Nov 30) Sea slug with paddles?. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/21110Dear Annabelle,
A 'sea slug with paddles' is quite a good description of this animal, but if you saw it covered with water you would be even more amazed by the way its head has become a scoop net for catching small crustacea. It is a species of Melibe, most probably Melibe viridis. Have a look at the Fact Sheet for that species and the attached messages for more information. And use the Species List or the Taxonomic Search [see menu at upper left of every page] to find other species of Melibe. They are a very strange group.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
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