Navanax aenigmaticus
(Bergh, 1893)

Order: CEPHALASPIDEA
Superfamily: PHILINOIDEA
Family: Aglajidae

DISTRIBUTION

Pacific Coast of Central America (sthn Mexico to Peru), Caribbean Sea, Atlantic coast of Sth America from Caribbean to Brazil. Possibly west Africa.

PHOTO

Santa Marta, Colombia. Length 1.5 - 2 cm. Photo: Phanor Montoya. Inset showing blue spots (arrows) along parapodial edge.

Originally described from the Pacific coast of Panama, Pacific animals are usually brown with whitish blotches and bright blue spots along the inner parapodial border but occasionally a specimen with brown and white lines is found. In the Caribbean the animal is usually lined with white and brown as in this photo from Colombia. This colour form was described as a distinct species Chelidonura evelinae Marcus, 1955. Gosliner (1980) also considered species described from West Africa to be synonyms. Humann (1992) reports that it feeds on other opisthobranchs and in particular Elysia crispata.

Reference:
• Gosliner, T.M. (1980) Systematics and phylogeny of the Aglajidae (opisthobranchia: Mollusca). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 68(4): 325-360.
• Marcus, Er. (1955) Opisthobranchia from Brazil. Boletim da Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciencias e Letras. Universidade de Sao Paulo, Zoologia, 20: 89-261. (Pls. 1-30)

Authorship details
Rudman, W.B., 2000 (October 2) Navanax aenigmaticus (Bergh, 1893). [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet/navaaeni

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