Thorunna australis on possible food, Mayotte Island

March 11, 2010
From: Matthias Deuss

Dear Bill,

I found this little Thorunna australis under a dead Acropora coral. You may find its favorite food among all the sponges it's crawling on, though I can't spot any trace of feeding on these.

Locality: Bandrele inner reef, 2 metres, Mayotte Island, Comoros, Indian Ocean, 28 December 2009, Living coral area. Length: 10 mm. Photographer: Matthias Deuss.

Best wishes,

Matthias Deuss

matthias976@hotmail.fr

Deuss, M., 2010 (Mar 11) Thorunna australis on possible food, Mayotte Island. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/23323

Dear Matthias,

These slugs don't make it easy for us. Sponge colonies in crevices are often mishapen and difficult to identify. In this case I think there is more than one species of sponge present and I suspect the whitish network on which the slug is crawling is not its food sponge but possibly a calcareous sponge. However on either side of your photo are bits of perhaps the same colony of another species, which could well be a species of Dysidea. We have two records on the Forum [#22474; #1201] showing this species feeding on a nondescript encrusting dysideid. Your message could represent a third record.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2010 (Mar 11). Comment on Thorunna australis on possible food, Mayotte Island by Matthias Deuss. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/23323

Factsheet

Thorunna australis

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