New species - Phyllodesmium rudmani

Dear Ingo (& Terry),
Thanks very much. These solar powered slugs have been a special research interest of mine for many years so it means a lot to me to have one named after me. When Takako Uno & Stephen Wong sent photos of this species to the Forum [message #9200] five yeasr ago, I was just about to leave to give a course on molluscs at a local university. I was so impressed by this animal and its mimicry of Xenia that I sat down and remade my Power Point presentation to include this remarkable animal.

As you mention in your description, the cerata of this species are not flattened like those of other Xenia- feeding species but circular, and the zooxanthellae are restricted to the upper ridged part of the cerata where they are in full sunlight. Although they don't realise it, they not only mimic a Xenia polyp in shape, but also in where they keep their zooxanthellae, for in Xenia I found that the vast majority of the zooxanthellae are stored in sacs along the polyp tentacles [see zooxanthellae in cnidarians ]

The work you are doing with your Diving PAM (Pulse Amplitude Modulated Fluorometer) has opened up an exciting new window into how these solar-powered animals operate. Amongst the Forum backlog there are many Phyllodesmium messages, so I have decided to turn today into 'Phyllodesmium Day' and post just messages on this wonderful genus. Some of the messages have been waiting a while - but just think of them as having time to mature, like a good red wine.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman