Re: Elysia hirasei vs Elysia chilkensis
May 18, 2006
From: Kathe R. Jensen
Concerning message #16607:
Dear Cynthia and Bill,
I do have a picture of Elysia chilkensis. Unfortunately I didn't take the original, Sherman Bleakney from Acadia University, Nova Scotia, Canada did. He has been retired for several years and I don't know his current address. However, I cannot imagine that he would object as long as he is acknowledged for the picture - especially since he also gave me all of his field notes and specimens from his trip to Hong Kong. The picture was taken on 2 January 1981. The specimen had been collected in tide pools at Tsim Bei Tsui, Deep Bay, Hong Kong. I looked very carefully for it when I first visited Hong Kong in 1983, but didn't find any (instead I got Gascoignella aprica from that locality).
Locality: Tsim Bei Tsui, Deep Bay, intertidal, Hong Kong, South China Sea, 2 January 1981. Length: 7 mm. Photographer: J. Sherman Bleakney.
As you can see it differs in a number of ways from E. hirasei: the anterior margin of the head is deeply cleft between the rhinophores, the rhinophores are very long and thin, the anterior foot corners are pointed. If I remember right, it didn't have any papillae on the parapodia, but I may be wrong about that. Thus I doubt that E. chilkensis and E. hirasei are the same species - but I won't completely rule it out.
Best wishes,
Kathe
krjensen@snm.ku.dk
Dear Kathe,
Thanks for the photo. All we need to do now is go to Chilka Lake and find an animal which fits Eliot's rather poor description of E. chilkensis.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
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