Oxynoe olivacea from Turkey
October 4, 2002
From: Baki Yokes
Dear Bill,
Here is a photo of Oxynoe olivacea feeding on Caulerpa prolifera. As far as I observed, the other Caulerpa-eating slugs (Oxynoe viridis and Elysia cf. tomentosa) make a puncture on the body of the algae and suck the tissue, whereas Oxynoe olivacea, like a caterpillar, eats the edges of the leaves. Although O. olivacea feeds on C. racemosa?, it usually prefers C. prolifera when it is available. I think plant morphology is one of the key elements in choosing the food.
Date: September 2, 2002
Place: Antalya, Turkey
Divesite: Tatlisu koyu
Depth: 18m
Size (O. olivacea): 35mm
Photos: Baki Yokes
Best wishes
Baki
bakiyokes@turk.net
Yokes, B., 2002 (Oct 4) Oxynoe olivacea from Turkey. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/8006Dear Baki,
Thanks for these interesting photos. It is also nice to get a photo of this important Mediterranean species. I know Kathe Jensen, amongst many others, has looked at feeding in this species so perhaps she an explain how Oxynoe actually feeds on C. prolifera. From your photo it appears the transparent 'skeleton' of the plant remains after feeding. I assume that in all species of Caulerpa the colour is from the cell contents rather than from pigments in the cell wall. Which would suggest that O. olivacea does indeed remove the cell contents, but I don't know the structure of C. prolifera. Is each 'leaf' made of many tiny cells or what?
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
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