Cuthona cf. caerulea from Senegal

July 2, 2003
From: Marina Poddubetskaia

Dear Bill,
Here are small eolids from Dakar. I can't identify them and your help would be very welcome. It looks a little like Cuthona caerulea, but I don't think it is this species because
1. cerata have similar colour but are quite different in shape
2. here, rhinophores aren't tipped with orange and the colour of oral tentacles are a little different too.

I photographed these animals in the tank on their hydroid. There were a lot of specimens on it with many egg-ribbons like in the third photo.

Date: June 04, 2003
Location: Senegal, Eastern Atlantic
Site: Gouye teni M'bot
Depth: 24m
Size: 8-10mm
Photos: Marina Poddubetskaia - Nembro website

Best wishes,
Marina.

nembro@nembro.info

Poddubetskaia, M., 2003 (Jul 2) Cuthona cf. caerulea from Senegal. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/10285

Dear Marina,
I would agree your animals have some differences from 'typical' C. caerulea but that species is quite variable in colour. In fact the animals in your photos show considerable variation. One has a broad blue band on the cerata with many yellowish specks below it, while the other has a thin blue band and no yellowish specks. One has colourless rhinophores while the other is opaque white. Picton & Morrow report C. caerulea as feeding on hydroids of the genus Sertularella. Although its difficult to be sure, the hydroid in your photos could easily be a Sertularella.

I wouls appreciate some comments from colleagues with a knowledge of this species. If it is C. caerulea, I think it is the first record south of Morocco. Marcus (1955) records a single specimen from Brazil, but it is not clear if he is desribing the colour of a live or preserevd specimen.

• 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)

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2003 (Jul 2). Comment on Cuthona cf. caerulea from Senegal by Marina Poddubetskaia. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/10285

Factsheet

Cuthona caerulea

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