Cratena affinis? from South Africa
October 26, 2006
From: Colin Ogden
Hi Bill,
Jesse Veldmann found this creature in our rock pools. I think it looks like the forum's Cratena cf affinis, but that one seems to exist only in Japan. I know we try to define the areas these tiny creatures live, but they always have a surprise for us. Your comments would really be appreciated.
Locality: Sodwana Bay, 0 metres, South Africa, Indian, July 2006, Rock pool. Length: 8 mm. Photographer: Jesse Veldmann.
Our list of Nudibranchs here has now reached 229 species ( in 2 years) and our record for the most number of different species observed and photographed in 1 dive is now 28 different species. Sorry about that probably irrelevant info, but I thought it might just be of interest.
Regards
Colin
scubaco@iafrica.com
Ogden C. M., 2006 (Oct 26) Cratena affinis? from South Africa. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/17673Dear Colin,
Your comments are certainly not irrelevant. I suspect it will be a number of years - hopefully never - before you reach the stage where nothing surprises you.
I am pretty sure this is the animal Terry Gosliner has in his book, Nudibranchs of Southern Africa, as Cratena sp. 3 [sp 263: p127]. I am not sure if this is the same as the Forum's Cratena cf affinis and would need to know something about the shape of the rhinophores and the front of the foot before I could say anything else.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
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