Philinopsis reticulata from Eilat, Red Sea

March 8, 2005
From: Binyamin Koretz


Hi Bill,

The attached photos of Philinopsis reticulata will establish the range of this East African color form in the Red Sea all the way to Eilat.

Locality:  Eilat, Tables South, Israel, Red Sea. Depth: 28 m. Length: ca. 3 cm. 04 March 2005. sea grass. Photographer: Binyamin and Shulamit Koretz

Each time I tried to move aside the sea grass to get a clear photo, this friendly little guy made a beeline for my hand - as you can see in the photo where he's wrapped around my finger. And shaking him off gently wasn't so easy - he hangs on by his mouth (what else can he do?) and doesn't like to let go!

best regards
Binyamin

binyamin@koretz.net

Koretz, B., 2005 (Mar 8) Philinopsis reticulata from Eilat, Red Sea. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/13297

Dear Binyamin,
Thanks for the record and the beautiful photos. As I mention on the species Fact Sheet, Nathalie Yonow named another colour form of this species from Eilat, Red Sea, as a new species Aglaja phaeoreticulata. So it is good to get a 'typical' east African colour form from the same locality.

I suspect it was hanging on your finger, not so much by its mouth, but by the sticky mucus secretions it secretes from gland just under it mouth.. Aglajids lay down a sheet of mucus on which to crawl as they walk along, and those that burrow in the sand or mud produce a complete tube of mucus to crawl through, which I guess stops their gills getting clogged up. In the close-up of the head, I have included alongside my comments, the black spot is its right eye.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2005 (Mar 8). Comment on Philinopsis reticulata from Eilat, Red Sea by Binyamin Koretz. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/13297

Factsheet

Philinopsis reticulata

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