Okenia hallucigenia from sthn Queensland

November 10, 2008
From: Gary Cobb


Concerning message #22019:

Hi Bill and everyone!
Well again here another entry to the World Famous Sea Slug Forum! Here are some photos of Okenia hallucigenia from "our backyard".

Locality: Mooloolaba, Sunshine Coast, 15 m, Queensland, Australia, Pacific Ocean, 24 November 2007, Subtidal. Length: 15-22 m. Photographer: Gary Cobb.

Cheers
Gary

gary@nudibranch.com.au

Cobb, G.C., 2008 (Nov 10) Okenia hallucigenia from sthn Queensland. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/22022

Dear Gary,

Thanks for these photos. Although the animal in the upper photos looks a bit damaged we can still see the characteristic 4 pairs of dorso-lateral papillae. Thanks also for the photo of the egg ribbon, which I have not seen before. Are the eggs always this colour or do they start out white? Do you see either of the other pink species [O. atkinsonorum, O. stellata] which eat the same bryozoan?

The photo of O. hallucigenia on its food, Pleurotoichus clathratus, nicely shows the extended polyp-like zooids. It would be interesting to know just how each of the three species that eat this bryozoan bite off the zooids, as each species has quite differently shaped teeth.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2008 (Nov 10). Comment on Okenia hallucigenia from sthn Queensland by Gary Cobb. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/22022

Factsheet

Okenia hallucigenia

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