Jorunna from Tristan da Cunha
November 18, 2009
From: Sue Scott
Note: For cross-reference I have posted 3 copies of this message. This copy deals with Jorunna sp. - Bill Rudman
Hello Bill,
I consult your very informative website from time to time to try & identify seaslugs. I'm a marine biologist normally resident in Scotland but I've been running a marine project on Tristan da Cunha for the past few years. Because the island is so isolated and geologically young it has a weird & wonderful fauna, mostly derived from waifs & strays rafted there on marine debris, both natural and manmade. Attached are 3 photos of seaslugs from Tristan, which I have tentatively identified as Tyrinna nobilis [message #22796], Doris/Anisodoris fontainei [message #22798] and Jorunna tomentosa. I'd be grateful for your expert opinion on these ids. Many of Tristan's animals also occur in Chile & Argentina, as is the case with the first two of these seaslugs. If the Jorunna is correct, it maybe came from the South African side.
Locality: Tristan da Cunha, Intertidal pools east of Harbour, British Overseas Territory, South Atlantic Ocean, 2004-2007 (dates available), Extremely exposed rocky coasts. 37 03' 50.94"S, 12 18' 43.64"W. (position derived from Google Earth; note decimal seconds) Photographer: Sue Scott
Regards,
Sue
suescott153@btinternet.com
Scott, S., 2009 (Nov 18) Jorunna from Tristan da Cunha. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/22799Dear Sue,
Certainly this looks like a species of Jorunna but without looking at its anatomy it might be difficult to identify it to species. It certainly could be J. tomentosa which is found from nthn Europe south to South Africa, but it also has similarities to Jorunna spazzola (Marcus, 1976) which was described from Brazil but has since been reported as far north as the Caribbean and across to the Mediterranean (Camacho-Garcia & Gosliner, 2008).
I am afraid the genus Jorunna is probably not the best for bio-geographical studies as I suspect it will be a while before we have the species sorted out. Unless some one offers a better idea, I think I will leave your animal as a tentative J. tomentosa.
- Camacho-Garcia, Y. E., & Gosliner, T.M., 2008. Systematic revision of Jorunna Bergh, 1876 (Nudibranchia: Discodorididae) with a morphological phylogenetic analysis. Journal of Molluscan Studies 74(2):143-181.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
Related messages
-
Jorunna tomentosa spawning
From: Joao Pedro Silva, September 9, 2008 -
Jorunna tomentosa from Sardinia?
From: Alberto Piras, November 29, 2006 -
Jorunna tomentosa from Plymouth, UK
From: Judith Oakley, August 11, 2006 -
Jorunna tomentosa from the Adriatic
From: Tancredi D'Onofrio, April 21, 2006 -
Re: Is this a Jorunna species?
From: Mehmet Baki Yokes, October 3, 2005 -
Dorid from Slovenia [3]
From: Tom Turk, October 1, 2005 -
Is this a Jorunna species?
From: Aziz Saltik, September 29, 2005 -
Jorunna tomentosa from Portugal
From: Joao Pedro Silva , March 2, 2004 -
Re: Jorunna tomentosa from French Brittany
From: Peter H. van Bragt, June 11, 2003 -
Re: Jorunna tomentosa from French Brittany
From: Alma Sanchez, June 6, 2003 -
Jorunna tomentosa from French Brittany
From: Marina Poddubetskaia, June 5, 2003 -
Re: Unidentified dorid from Spain
From: Peter H. van Bragt, November 28, 2002 -
Re: Unidentified dorid from Spain
From: Alma Sanchez, November 23, 2002 -
Unidentified dorid from Spain
From: Constantine Mifsud, November 23, 2002 -
Unidentified dorid from Spain
From: Miquel Pontes, November 21, 2002 -
Unknown dorid from Helgoland, Germany
From: Philipp Schubert, June 22, 2002 -
Jorunna tomentosa from southern France
From: Jean-Pierre Bielecki , January 23, 2002 -
Jorunna tomentosa from the Netherlands
From: Peter H. van Bragt, August 11, 1999