Post-settlement juveniles of Elysia obtusa

September 14, 2002
From: Jun Imamoto

Dear Bill,
I found this sea slug in a tide pool at the beach. It was under a rock and it was very little. I think that obviously it is Elysia obtusa. But I think that its form is a little different from the adult. Perhaps it is stage in its development from a larva to an adult. Adults of E. obtusa are common on this beach.

Manazuru, Sagami Bay, Japan. Size approx 4mm, Intertidal., Temp: 26C, 8 Sep 2002.

Best Regards,
Jun Imamoto
http://umiushi.zive.net/

imamoto@wips.co.jp

Imamoto, J., 2002 (Sep 14) Post-settlement juveniles of Elysia obtusa. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/7949

Dear Jun,
This is a very interesting discovery - I don't know how you could take such good photos of animals so small in a tide pool. I agree that these are most likely to be juvenile E. obtusa. I guess there is a possibility that this is a damaged animal, but if so the damage has been done in a very symmetrical way. If it is not damaged, it looks like the parapodia begin as flaps of tissue, perhaps mantle tissue, which then grow posteriorly, presumably to fuse with the foot. This is rather different from what you would expect to happen. A more usual scenario would be for the digestive gland to extend posteriorly and gradually grow up as parapodia on each side. I can't find any literature of larval development on these animals. Hopefully Kathe Jensen, Cynthia Trowbridge or Yoshi Hirano will have some ideas. As I said it could be a damaged animal, so one priority would be to try and find some more of these juveniles - not an easy task I would think.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2002 (Sep 14). Comment on Post-settlement juveniles of Elysia obtusa by Jun Imamoto. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/7949

Factsheet

Elysia obtusa

Related messages

  1. Elysia obtusa from India
    From: Vishal Bhave, January 20, 2010
  2. Elysia obtusa from Hawaii
    From: Keoki Stender, June 22, 2006
  3. Elysia obtusa from South Korea
    From: Dong Bum Koh, June 9, 2005
  4. Re: Development in Elysia obtusa
    From: Jun Imamoto, September 25, 2002
  5. Re: Development in Elysia obtusa
    From: Kathe Jensen, September 16, 2002
  6. Habitat of Elysia obtusa
    From: Nishina Masayoshi, July 29, 2001
  7. Elysia obtusa from the Marshall Ids
    From: Scott Johnson, July 28, 2001
  8. Elysia obtusa and its diet
    From: Kathe R. Jensen, July 27, 2001
  9. Elysia obtusa from Heron Island
    From: Julie Marshall, July 26, 2001
  10. Another photo of Elysia obtusa
    From: Nishina Masayoshi, July 26, 2001
  11. Re: Elysia obtusa from Japan
    From: Cynthia Trowbridge, July 26, 2001
  12. Elysia obtusa from Japan
    From: Nishina Masayoshi & Chikako, July 25, 2001
  13. Elysia obtusa from Hong Kong.
    From: Leslie Chan, July 25, 2001
  14. Elysia obtusa from Hong Kong
    From: Bill Rudman & Brian Darvell, July 25, 2001

Show factsheet and all related messages