Autotomy in Berthella martensi
January 7, 2000
From: Mary Jane Adams
Dear Bill,
I found this Berthella martensi at 10 meters on a the lagoon side of a barrier reef in the Florida Group of the Solomon Islands. It is the first one I have seen and so I took a lot of photos of it. When I was reviewing my photos I noticed that the left side panel of the mantle is missing. I read in your Forum that this pleurobranch can shed sections of its mantle as a defence mechanism, but I was wondering how common it is to find them this way.
Thanks for keeping up the Forum even on your holiday!
Mary Jane
mjadams@earthlink.net
Adams, M.J, 2000 (Jan 7) Autotomy in Berthella martensi. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/1730Dear Mary Jane,
I'm not sure how often B. martensi breaks off parts of its mantle. As it can regrow the missing section there is no permanent record of the event unlike a lizard whose second tail is usually a poor imitation of the original.
I have never found B. martensi in large numbers. Perhaps someone who has, could give us some idea of how common 'breakages' occur.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.
Related messages
-
Variants of Berthella martensi from Reunion Island
From: Hugues Flodrops, November 18, 2008 -
Berthella martensi feeding
From: Bruce Wilkie, October 5, 2007 -
Berthella martensi from the Seychelles
From: David K A Barnes, August 27, 2007 -
Berthella martensi - feeding observation
From: Alain BONNET, July 31, 2006 -
Berthella martensi from the Philippines
From: Carlos R. Munda, June 8, 2006 -
Berthella martensi from Taiwan
From: Ching-Yao Chan, April 15, 2006 -
Berthella martensi mating
From: Kevin Lee, February 11, 2006 -
Berthella martensi from Queensland
From: Daniel J. Foote, May 25, 2005 -
White form of Berthella martensi from Reunion Island
From: Philibert Bidgrain, May 20, 2005 -
Berthella martensi from Indonesia
From: Mike Oelrich, February 17, 2005 -
Re: Berthella martensi from Thailand
From: Erwin Koehler, December 11, 2003 -
Berthella martensi from Thailand
From: Mark Atwell & Dana Rayfield, December 8, 2003 -
Berthella martensi from Mauritius
From: Marina Poddubetskaia, November 15, 2002 -
Sea Hares? in Pulau Aur, Malaysia
From: Barbara Phua, September 30, 2002 -
Berthella martensi from Tufi, Papua New Guinea
From: Des Paroz, October 23, 2001 -
Berthella martensi from the Solomons
From: Bruce Potter, October 4, 2001 -
Berthella martensi from NE Sulawesi
From: Jim Anderson, August 10, 2001 -
Berthella martensi with tubercles
From: Mary Jane Adams, February 27, 2001 -
Berthella martensi - pics and food info
From: Bob Bolland, May 1, 1999 -
Berthella martensi - feeding observation
From: Clay Bryce, April 30, 1999 -
Re: Mystery from the Philippines
From: Erwin Koehler, April 22, 1999 -
Re: Mystery from Philippines
From: Bill Rudman, April 22, 1999 -
Mystery from the Philippines
From: Erwin Koehler, April 21, 1999