More N. kubaryana & Roboastra

February 23, 2006
From: Kristin Anderson

These recent messages prompted me to dig through some more old photographs. I hope they are interesting.

I wish I knew then what I know now and I would have hung out with these two longer!

The small Roboastra luteolineata (? R. gracilis, I'm a bit confused now!) was hot on the trail of this much larger red variation of Nembrotha kubaryana. I spent six or so minutes with them, but the little one fell off the pace and I left.

I've included photos of the predator tracking the sand trail left behind by the Nembrotha kubaryana - not sure if he really does that or if it just appeared that way. He did follow the trail up and around and back out across the sand - I just don't have a whole series.

Locality: Blizzard Ridge, Lighthouse Bay, 14m, Western Australia, Indian Ocean, Ningaloo Reef, 13 January 2005, limestone and hard coral reef. Length: Nembrotha 6-7 cms; Roboastra 2-3 cms. Photographer: Kristin Anderson.

Kristin Anderson

kristin@OceansByAnderson.com

Anderson, K.J., 2006 (Feb 23) More N. kubaryana & Roboastra. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/15869

Dear Kristin,
Firstly, the Roboastra is clearly R. luteolineata in this instance. The one in your earlier message [#15816], mentioned by Rie Nakano [#15851], is a problem, because of the angle it is photographed in and because it is at rest, so we have no idea whether its gills and rhinophores are very long, which is a good character of R. gracilis, when all else fails.

Nudibranchs, and other opisthobranchs for that matter certainly follow mucous trails in pursuit of mates and food. The cephalaspid, Navanax inermis, is a good example of a hunter following the trail of its prey, and the many species mentioned on the trailing Fact Sheet illustrate how trail following is used for more sociable behaviour as well.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2006 (Feb 23). Comment on More N. kubaryana & Roboastra by Kristin Anderson. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/15869

Factsheet

Nembrotha kubaryana

Related messages

  1. Nembrotha feeding habits
    From: Sula Corbet, December 10, 2009
  2. Nembrotha kubaryana from Exmouth, Western Australia
    From: Bruce Potter, April 3, 2008
  3. Re: Is Nembrotha kubaryana no more?
    From: Kathe R. Jensen, March 2, 2008
  4. Re: Nembrotha kubaryana or Nembrotha nigerrima?
    From: Terry Gosliner, March 2, 2008
  5. Re: Nembrotha kubaryana or Nembrotha nigerrima?
    From: Bill Rudman, February 29, 2008
  6. Is Nembrotha kubaryana no more?
    From: Kristin Anderson, February 29, 2008
  7. Re: Nembrotha cristata feeding
    From: Matt Doggett, August 10, 2007
  8. Nembrotha kubaryana mating in Sulawesi
    From: Mike Krampf, May 3, 2007
  9. Nembrotha kubaryana feeding in the Philippines
    From: Mike Krampf, April 17, 2007
  10. Nembrotha kubaryana from Bunaken, Indonesia
    From: J.R. Pahlano Daud, February 14, 2007
  11. Nembrotha kubaryana from the Great Barrier Reef
    From: Paul Scrobohaci, June 28, 2006
  12. Nembrotha kubaryana from the Great Barrier Reef
    From: Robert Thyer, June 16, 2006
  13. Deformed Nembrotha kubaryana
    From: Ho Wei Kwok Alvin, May 31, 2006
  14. Re: Nembrotha kubaryana & another species mating?
    From: Bill Rudman, February 21, 2006
  15. Why the white on Nembrotha kubaryana?
    From: Kristin Anderson, February 21, 2006
  16. Nembrotha kubaryana & another species mating?
    From: Kristin Anderson, February 21, 2006
  17. 2 Colour variants of N. kubaryana mating
    From: Ross Gudgeon, February 18, 2006
  18. Nembrotha kubaryana - Exmouth, Australia
    From: Mick Tait, August 1, 2005
  19. Nembrotha kubaryana from Malaysia
    From: Asther M. Lau, October 2, 2003
  20. Nembrotha kubaryana - feeding
    From: Asther M. Lau, September 3, 2003
  21. Nembrotha kubaryana from the Solomon Ids
    From: Bruce Potter, July 11, 2003
  22. Nembrotha kubaryana from Malaysia
    From: Kelvin Tan, February 7, 2003
  23. Nembrotha kubaryana from Mauritius
    From: Marina Poddubetskaia , November 14, 2002
  24. Juvenile Nembrotha kubaryana from Mauritius
    From: Marina Poddubetskaia, November 14, 2002
  25. Nembrotha kubaryana feeding
    From: Sabine Noack, November 7, 2002
  26. Nembrotha kubaryana from North Sulawesi
    From: Marli Wakeling, October 14, 2002
  27. Nembrotha kubaryana feeding
    From: Nishina Masayoshi, September 19, 2002
  28. Nembrotha kubaryana from Malaysia
    From: Richard Houghton, September 7, 2002
  29. Nembrotha kubaryana from the Solomon Ids
    From: Ken Clayton, August 2, 2002
  30. Nembrotha kubaryana? from Malaysia
    From: Maliza Anuar, July 20, 2002
  31. Nembrotha kubaryana f rom Indonesia
    From: Richard Houghton, July 16, 2002
  32. Nembrotha kubaryana from nthn Sulawesi
    From: Helmut Schirmböck , July 13, 2002
  33. Nembrotha - preferred ascidians
    From: Nerida Wilson, June 13, 2002
  34. Nembrotha kubaryana feeding and mating
    From: Erwin Koehler, June 12, 2002
  35. Nembrotha kubaryana with third Rhinophore
    From: Michael D. Miller, November 29, 2001
  36. Nembrotha kubaryana from Exmouth, W.A.
    From: Kirk Gibson, April 10, 2001
  37. Nembrotha kubaryana from Papua New Guinea
    From: Stuart Hutchison, September 12, 2000
  38. Colour variation in Nembrotha kubaryana
    From: Mary Jane Adams, August 3, 2000
  39. Nembrotha kubaryana from Ningaloo Reef
    From: Mary Jane Adams, August 3, 2000
  40. Nembrotha kubaryana? from Sulawesi
    From: Lindsay Warren, July 24, 2000
  41. Nembrotha kubaryana from Lord Howe Island
    From: Wayne Ellis, September 28, 1999
  42. Nembrotha kubaryana from Papua New Guinea
    From: Grey McNeil, July 8, 1999
  43. Nembrotha kubaryana from the Philippines
    From: Erwin Koehler, January 21, 1999

Show factsheet and all related messages