Quoy & Gaimard's description of Atagema carinata

May 30, 2005
From: Bill Rudman

To accompany Ian Skipworth's photo [#13907] of Atagema carinata (Quoy & Gaimard, 1832) here is a scan of the original illustrations from Plate 16  (Figs 10-14) from Quoy & Gaimard.

Certainly the illustrations emphasise the the caryophyllidia, which give the mantle a furry appearance, and the high sheaths around the rhinophore pockets, and even the tri-lobed gill pocket, but they don't record the spectacular fin-like crest illustrated in Ian Skipworth's photo. The only other photos I have seen of this species are dorsal shots, so the nature of the crest is not obvious. Perhaps it is variable, sometimes low and of a uniform height, as in Quoy & Gaimard's illustration, and sometimes more elaborately developed. The type specimen was only 9 mm long preserved  so it is possible the crest does not fully develop until the animal is larger.

  • Quoy, J. R. and Gaimard, J. P. (1832) Voyages de découvertes de l`Astrolabe pendant les années 1826-1829 sous le commandement de M.J. Dumont d`Urville. Zoologie 2: 1-686.
Rudman, W.B., 2005 (May 30) Quoy & Gaimard's description of Atagema carinata. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/13821

Factsheet

Atagema carinata

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