Polycera hedgpethi in Picton Harbour, New Zealand
December 13, 2006
From: Ashley Coutts
Dear Bill,
I have been using settlement plates in Picton Harbour, South Island, New Zealand for my PhD research and have discovered an unfamiliar nudibranch. I have some images of the species in question, but they are very poor quality because I have had to crop the image from larger images, so I'm hoping someone will recognise the species as being a common character.
Locality: Picton Harbour, Picton., 3 metres, South Island, New Zealand, Queen Charlotte Sound, 20 January 2005, Present grazing on Bugula flabellata on settlement plates beneath a wharf.. Length: Approximately 2-3 cm.. Photographer: Ashley Coutts.
Ashley Coutts
ashley.coutts@cawthron.org.nz
Coutts, A. D. M., 2006 (Dec 13) Polycera hedgpethi in Picton Harbour, New Zealand. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/18983Dear Ashley,
This is Polycera hedgpethi. As you will see from the Fact Sheet, and acssociated messages, this is what we call a 'tramp' species or 'hitchhiker', and it seems to have taken advantage of world shipping to travel to many parts of the world. It feeds on Bugula and we suspect it travels on the bottom of ships or yachts with hulls fouled with this bryozoan. Larvae in ballast water is of course another alternative. The great mystery is where its real home is.
It has been known from New Zealand for many years (see Miller, 2001) but as far as I know, these earlier records refer to northern New Zealand, around Auckland. I guess it is not surprising to find it in Queen Charlotte Sound, but it is certainly valuable to get a verifiable sighting, with photos, to add to our knowledge of this species. Good luck with your research and any other opisthobranch finds you make are very welcome on the Forum
-
Miller, M.C. (2001) Descriptions of the Dorid nudibranchs Polycera hedgpethi Marcus, 1964 and P. fujitai Baba, 1937 in New Zealand (Gastropoda: Opisthobranchia). Journal of Molluscan Studies, 67: 489-497.
Bill Rudman
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