Melibe leonina on Eel Grass
October 14, 2005
From: Jan Kocian
Hello Bill,
More photos of Melibe leonina, this time feeding (?) off Eel grass (Zostera marina).
Locality: Puget Sound, Washington, USA, NE Pacific Ocean. Depth: 20 feet
Length: 35 mm. 07 October 2005. Photographer: Jan Kocian
Jan
honkoc@hotmail.com
Kocian J., 2005 (Oct 14) Melibe leonina on Eel Grass. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/14953Dear Jan,
I must say that species of Melibe are one of my most favourite animals. Their shape is so unbelievable - but clearly very efficient. You ask if they are 'feeding off' the Eel Grass. If you mean are they eating the Eel Grass, then the answer is no. They have no teeth or hard parts so biting off bits of plant material is out of the question. All species that have been looked at feed in small crustacea - crabs, shrimps, copepods, amphipods etc, which they catch in their remarkable fishing net-like oral hood. Most species feed on crustacea living on the sand or substrate which they catch by feeling with the papillae (or feelers) along the edge of their oral hood, closing the hood around the prey and swallowing it whole. Melibe leonina also catches planktonic animals drifting past by holding its head out into the water current.
In your wonderful photos, the animal it is 'slurping' along the Zostera leaves attempting to catch any small crustacea living amongst the organisms growing on the leaves.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
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