Facelina bostoniensis mating

June 27, 2007
From: Christian Skauge

Hello Bill,

I just thought you might want to use the enclosed image on your pages. It shows two Facelina bostoniensis mating, and the ball presumably consists of their respective sexual organs - I guess. I think it is a striking and unusual image. I've also included a that shows the head and cerata of the slug. With my 105mm + 1,4 teleconverter, I couldn't get any further away.

Locality data: Gulen Dive Centre approx. 100 km north of Bergen (Norwegian west coast), depth ca. 14 meters, late afternoon on the 10th of June, 2007.
 
The slugs were sitting on top of a large rock on sandy bottom, some kelp and several hydroids close by. Needless to say, the specimens were fiercely occupied and did not mind light, strobes or photographers the least :-)
 
Best regards,
Chris

post@dykkefoto.no

Skauge, C., 2007 (Jun 27) Facelina bostoniensis mating. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/20017

Thanks Christian,

It is a striking photo - the sort you could put in a mystery picture competition. As you say, it is part of their mating apparatus but I can't be any more specific than that. This group of aeolids often have quite elaborate 'glands' and secondary organs associated with their penis and in most cases we have no idea how they function during copulation. All these organs sit inside the body 'outside in', much like the inturned finger of a rubber glove which only comes out when you blow into the glove. We only know about these structures when we dissect the preserved animal and usually the organs are 'outside in' and it is difficult to guess just how each will extend and inflate when in use.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2007 (Jun 27). Comment on Facelina bostoniensis mating by Christian Skauge. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/20017

Factsheet

Facelina bostoniensis

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