Trapania dalva - juvenile?

October 31, 2002
From: Linda Ianniello

Dr. Bill,
To go along with my other message about Trapania dalva we found on a recent night dive (October 2002 off Deerfield Beach, Florida, at a depth of 40'), we also saw quite a few of what appeared to be juveniles. They were much smaller than the brown ones, and an off-white color (not brown). In one location I saw approximately 6 of these smaller ones within a 12-inch area of one of the larger ones. In other locations the tiny ones were by themselves. The attached photo was taken by my friend Judy Townsend, who had the right size framer and got a good shot of one.

Regards,
Linda I.

lindai@us.ibm.com

Ianniello, L., 2002 (Oct 31) Trapania dalva - juvenile?. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/8265

Thanks Linda & Judy,
This is another interesting find as this animal has much the colour of the ones illustrated by Colin Redfern from the Bahamas, whic I commented on in your earlier message. It is of course possible that the little ones are a different species. I tend to lean towards the simplest suggestion, which is that these are juveniles of T. dalva which have yet to develop their brown pigmentation. If you are lucky, you might some time come across some intermediates in size and colour
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2002 (Oct 31). Comment on Trapania dalva - juvenile? by Linda Ianniello. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/8265

Factsheet

Trapania dalva

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