Re: Armina californica - feeding

June 2, 2010
From: Betty Bastai

Concerning message #20780:

I have read all the posts about Armina californica and I could not find any info on how the slung hunts.

Does it cruise under the sand until it detects a sea pen with its sense of smell, like a recent documentary about Puget Sound marine life suggests, or does it emerge from the sand, crawls on the bottom and then it finds the sea pen?

Thanks
Betty

ottersplash@gmail.com

Bastai, B., 2010 (Jun 2) Re: Armina californica - feeding. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/23708

Dear Betty,

Studying animals that spend a lot of time buried in the sand is difficult. Do they just bury themselves and hide/wait before surfacing again, or do they actively burrow along like moles? I am not sure that we have that sort of information on any burrowing sea slug, except for those which crawl along just beneath the surface. I assume that species of Armina use their rhinophores to smell their prey but whether or not they only do that at the surface I couldn't say. I refer on the species Fact Sheet to a study by Hans Bertsch on feeding in this species. Perhaps he could give us a better answer.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2010 (Jun 2). Comment on Re: Armina californica - feeding by Betty Bastai. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/23708

Factsheet

Armina californica

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