Elysia diomedea life span

July 28, 2005
From: Rebecca Rissanen

Hello again!
Once more, looking for information on our local slugs, I'm turning to the Sea Slug Forum. I must say, its once of the most complete sources of information I've run into while browsing the web. My question this time is, does anyone know how long (exactly or approximately) do Elysia diomedea live? And what's the reproductive cycle like (how long after eggs are laid are they hatched, what stages do they go through and for how long?)?

Locality: Punta Culebra, Panama, Pacific Ocean. Depth: about 30 cm. Length: 5 cm aprox. 25 July 2005. Rocky Intertidal. Photographer: Rebecca Rissanen

Thanks again for a great site! Here's a few pictures of our frilly guys.
Rebecca

rissanenj@si.edu

Rissanen, J.R., 2005 (Jul 28) Elysia diomedea life span. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/14423

Dear Rebecca,
Thanks for the photos - it certainly is a beautiful elysiid. I can't find any published work on its lifecycle or natural history, but someone else may know of some work, published or unpublished. In Peter Ajtai message [#7075] there is a photo of the egg ribbon, and the very tiny eggs suggest that the larvae hatch as microscopic free-swimming veligers, which spend some time in the plankton feeding on microscopic plants, before settling out of the water, to begin life as a small crawling slug.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2005 (Jul 28). Comment on Elysia diomedea life span by Rebecca Rissanen. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/14423

Factsheet

Elysia diomedea

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