Aldisa cooperi from Carmel California

May 11, 2009
From: Clinton Bauder


Concerning message #17063:

Hi Bill,

We've suddenly been seeing quite a lot of Aldisa cooperi at Point Lobos. Until recently it had only been known as far north as very northern California but Ed Bierman apparently found one one on the Big Sur Coast last year.

Locality: Point Lobos State Reserve, 40 meters, California, USA, Pacific, 04 April 2009, Rocky reef with encrusting sponges. Length: 30 mm. Photographer: Clinton Bauder.

Anyway, not sure if this is a recent trend or if nobody had noticed it previously but this slug is quite clearly well established in central California. Nearly all of the specimens we've seen are on this distinctive red bumpy sponge which we've also seen Aldisa sanguinea on.

Clinton

gecko1@apple.com

Bauder, Clinton, 2009 (May 11) Aldisa cooperi from Carmel California. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/22411

Thanks Clinton,

I guess this rather characteristic looking sponge is Anthoarcuata graceae which is reported as a preferred food in earlier Forum messages. I note that Gustafson & Andersen (1985) in a report on nudibranchs retaining chemicals from their food noted that they usually found Aldisa cooperi nestled in this sponge.

Gustafson, K. & Andersen, R. J. (1985) Chemical studies of British Columbia nudibranchs. Tetrahedron, 41 (6): 1101-1108

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2009 (May 11). Comment on Aldisa cooperi from Carmel California by Clinton Bauder. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/22411

Factsheet

Aldisa cooperi

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