Polycera atra? juvenile
July 5, 2000
From: Bruce Wight
Hi Doc,
A friend and I were looking over my images from last weeks trip and I was looking at those shots of the Janolus barbarensis and noticed a very small branch (in many of them) feeding on Bugula right in front of the Janolus. What do you think it is? It doesn't really look like Polycera atra, P. tricolor or P. hedgpethi. Maybe it is a juvenile of one of the three. See attached some images of the branch after I zoomed in on it.
Bruce Wight
bwproductions@earthlink.net
Wight, B., 2000 (Jul 5) Polycera atra? juvenile. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/2653Dear Bruce,
From the very small size it is most likely you have found a juvenile. As I have no first-hand knowledge of Californian nudibranchs I can only make a guess at its identity. I would suspect it is Polycera atra. Nudibranch larvae, after settling out of the plankton, start life as translucent white or colourless animals. As they grow, their adult colour pattern begins to appear. Often in juveniles a stripe or some spots may be missing, or a line may be broken. From your photos there is nothing inconsistent with what I see in photos of adult P. atra.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.
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