Hypselodoris bullocki? feeding

April 29, 2008
From: Kenneth Yong

Dear Bill,

Here's a very blue Hypselodoris bullocki which looks like it's feeding on a reddish sponge. You probably know that this particular color form is very common from the Sipadan-Mabul-Kapalai islands -- you do have quite a few contributions of this color form from Mabul and Kapalai.

I have yet to see a "typical" pinkish H. bullocki from here, and I've done hundreds of dive in the area!

Locality: Mabul Island, Eeel Garden divesite, 10 m, Sabah, Malaysia, Celebes Sea, 16 July 2007, Fringing coral reef. Length: 5-7 cm. Photographer: Kenneth Yong.

BTW, Asther Lau, who has contributed quite a few photos, and 2 of this color form, was my wife Letizia's dive instructor, and I recently met, and dived with, Mike Krampf, another of your regular contributors, in Bali. Talk about a forum uniting a very small world!

Another reason why I sent this photo is because I can't see its yellow rhinophores although the head looks like it's turned this way. What do you think happened?

Thanks a million,
Kenneth

kyong67@tiscali.it

Yong, K., 2008 (Apr 29) Hypselodoris bullocki? feeding. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/20665

Dear Kenneth,

Concerning the rhinophores, I am not sure if your is one with blue rhinophores rather than yellow - if so, they could just be retracted.  Another possibility is that some fish as bitten them off - if so it should be able to regrow them.  I am not sure just what the limits of Hypselodoris bullocki are. I have continued to include this blue form with a broad white border as a colour form of H. bullocki, but I am sure someone is itching to name it as a new species. It has at least 3 colour forms, one in which the rhinophores and the gills are the same colour as the body [see message #2073, #15410], another which has yellow (or orange) gills and rhinophores [message #1747]; and a third which  has yellow (or orange) rhinophores and blue gills [message #18974]. Similar variability can also be seen in the pinkish animals with a narrow white border.

Concerning possible feeding. The pink lump the animal is on is in fact a plant. It is what we call a coralline algae. Thewse algae are a group of red algae which accumulate calcium carbonate in their tissues. Some grow jointed 'fronds' a bit like the green alga Halimeda, while others - like in your photo - slowly deposit layers to form lumpy 'rocks'.

I'm glad to see the Forum is a force in uniting slug fanatics worldwide.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2008 (Apr 29). Comment on Hypselodoris bullocki? feeding by Kenneth Yong. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/20665

Factsheet

Hypselodoris bullocki - Page 3

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