Elysia ornata
(Swainson, 1840)

Order: SACOGLOSSA
Superfamily: ELYSIOIDEA
Family: Elysiidae

DISTRIBUTION

Circum-tropical: Caribbean and Indo-West Pacific.

PHOTO

UPPER: Koumac Beach (=Baie de Ouanap), near Koumac, New Caledonia, mixed soft and hard substrate, grassbeds, algae, October 1993, 37mm long alive.
LOWER: Pointe de Pandop, near Koumac, New Caledonia, intertidal, October 1993, 14mm long.PHOTOS: Bill Rudman.

Elysia ornata was originally described from the Caribbean. Recent anatomical studies suggest that Elysia marginata (Pease, 1871) from the Indo-West Pacific is the same species. The animal is usually a translucent green colour with a black parapodial margin and a submarginal yellow or orange band. Sometimes there is a white line between the orange and yellow bands. The tip of the rhinophores often have the same colour bands. There are also numerous black and white dots all over the body. A very similarly coloured species, from the Indo-West Pacific, Elysia grandifolia, has much larger, very thin parapodia. Jensen (1992) reports that E. ornata feeds on Bryopsis in both the Caribbean and the Indo West Pacific.

See Kathe Jensen's message for a discussion on the taxonomy confusion surrounding this and similarly coloured species.

Reference:
• Jensen, K.R. (1992) Anatomy of some Indo-Pacific Elysiidae (Opisthobranchia: Sacoglossa (=Ascoglossa), with a discussion of the generic division and phylogeny. Journal of Molluscan Studies, 58(3): 257-296.

Authorship details
Rudman, W.B., 1999 (November 4) Elysia ornata (Swainson, 1840). [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet/elysorna

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