Chelidonura amoena at Pulau Redang

September 11, 2003
From: Kheong Sann Chan


Hi Bill,
Could you ID these slugs for me? They were spotted by my buddy, they were climbing in unison up the side of the coral, then simultaneously turned away together almost as if it were choreographed. Then they later drifted off on their own paths. Do you suppose that it was pure chance that they happened to crawl in that manner, or do they do that for some reason?

Location: Redang Island, [East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia]
Date: 7 Sep 2003
Depth: approx 10m
Length: 5cm
The bottom was covered with lots of different types of corals, difficult to find a patch of sand to settle and take a photo.

Kheong.

kschan@mail.dsi.a-star.edu.sg

Chan, K.S., 2003 (Sep 11) Chelidonura amoena at Pulau Redang. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/10931

Dear Kheong,
Youe message arrived fortuitously just at I was posting Asther's message about the same species. It is Chelidonura amoena. As I said in her message, species of Chelidonura are often found crawling over massive coral colonies and it was often stated in popular books that they ate the coral mucus. I suspect they are in fact tracking down small flatworms which often occur on corals in large numbers. The choreographed turn you describe is probably just because they are reaching the edge of the coral plate.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2003 (Sep 11). Comment on Chelidonura amoena at Pulau Redang by Kheong Sann Chan. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/10931

Factsheet

Chelidonura amoena

Related messages

  1. Color variation in Chelidonura amoena from Lembeh
    From: Mike Krampf, July 27, 2007
  2. Re: Chelidonura amoena piggyback
    From: Kristin Anderson, July 17, 2007
  3. Chelidonura amoena piggyback
    From: Kristin Anderson, July 12, 2007
  4. Re: Chelidonura amoena from the Philippines
    From: Jose Victor Santos, May 15, 2007
  5. Re: Are Chelidonura electra and C. amoena the same?
    From: Roberto Sozzani, November 24, 2006
  6. Are Chelidonura electra and Chelidonura amoena one species?
    From: Linda Ianniello, November 22, 2006
  7. Chelidonura amoena from Malaysia
    From: Asther M. Lau, August 12, 2006
  8. Chelidonura amoena from Komodo, Indonesia?
    From: Robert Whitton, July 26, 2006
  9. Chelidonura amoena in Taiwan
    From: Alex Tattersall, July 25, 2006
  10. Pre-mating Ritual - Chelidonura amoena
    From: Mike Krampf, June 7, 2006
  11. Chelidonura amoena from Derawan, Indonesia
    From: Gennaro Ciavarella, December 13, 2005
  12. Chelidonura amoena in Malaysia
    From: Asther M. Lau, September 11, 2003
  13. Chelidonura amoena - shape and colour variation
    From: Atsushi Ono, July 2, 2003
  14. Chelidonura amoena mating
    From: Paul Whitehead, June 21, 2003
  15. Chelidonura amoena population explosion
    From: Todd Garthwaite, May 24, 2003
  16. Re: Chelidonura amoena spawning
    From: Nishina Masayoshi, May 12, 2003
  17. Chelidonura amoena spawning.
    From: Johny Leffelaer, May 9, 2003
  18. Chelidonura amoena from Malaysia
    From: Kelvin Tan, April 24, 2003
  19. Cross-species matings - Chelidonura
    From: Richard Willan, April 10, 2003
  20. Twin Tail Nudibranch from Malaysia
    From: Spencer Huang, October 10, 2002
  21. Chelidonura amoena from Malaysia
    From: Richard Houghton, July 19, 2002
  22. Chelidonura amoena from Malaysia
    From: Maliza Anuar, July 19, 2002
  23. Chelidonura flavolobata? from SE Sulawesi
    From: Lindsay Warren, June 16, 2002
  24. Re: Chelidonura amoena population explosion
    From: Todd Garthwaite , June 10, 2002
  25. Chelidonura amoena from Christmas Island
    From: W.B. Rudman, April 30, 2002
  26. Chelidonura amoena population explosion in Taipei
    From: Todd Garthwaite, April 27, 2002
  27. Chelidonura amoena from Taiwan
    From: Todd Garthwaite, April 1, 2002
  28. Chelidonura amoena - colour variation
    From: Nishina Masayoshi, February 21, 2002
  29. Chelidonura amoena from the Philippines
    From: Mary Jane Adams , June 16, 2001
  30. Chelidonura cf. amoena from SE Sulawesi
    From: Lindsay Warren, March 1, 2000
  31. Chelidonura amoena from the Philippines
    From: Erwin Koehler, May 1, 1999

Show factsheet and all related messages