Hermaea bifida? from the Scapa Flow

April 24, 2008
From: Stefanie Buell

My buddy spotted this fellow; very small (only just managed to get it in focus) with what looked underwater like tiny bright red balloons along it (they look orange in the photos).

Bernard Picton thinks it could be a strange Hermaea bifida, perhaps with the digestive gland full of food. I would be interested to hear what others think.

Locality: Wreckage of MV Mara, Scapa Flow, 14 metres, Orkney, Scotland, UK, North Sea, 14 August 2007, Wreckage of dive boat (!). Length: 5-10 mm. Photographer: Stefanie Buell.

All the best,
Stefanie

stefanie.buell@gmail.com

Buell, S.J., 2008 (Apr 24) Hermaea bifida? from the Scapa Flow. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/20767

Dear Stefanie,

My first thought must be is it an animal? I can't tell from the two photos if it was actually moving, and if so could it have been something on the back of a crab or a mollusc shell? It looks quite like cephalopod eggs or an algae to me. I can't see any sign of a head or tentacles or anything else which would suggest it is a mollusc, but I could be wrong. Did either you or your buddy see it moving? If not, why do you think its a animal?

Concerning Hermaea bifida, if you look at the photos on the Forum, the digestive gland in that species has a central duct and radiating branches. I can't see how the radial branches would disappear if the central duct became overinflated.

I would be interested in any other comments

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2008 (Apr 24). Comment on Hermaea bifida? from the Scapa Flow by Stefanie Buell. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/20767

Factsheet

Hermaea bifida

Related messages

  1. Hermaea bifida - Norway
    From: Bjørnar Nygård, April 9, 2010
  2. Hermaea bifida from the Scottish west coast.
    From: Jim Anderson, May 26, 2005
  3. Hermaea from Mediterranean
    From: Jean-Pierre Bielecki , May 26, 2001
  4. Hermaea bifida from France
    From: Jean Pierre Bielecki, February 7, 2001
  5. More photos of Hermaea bifida
    From: Peter H. van Bragt , September 30, 2000
  6. Re: Hermaea bifida from the Netherlands????
    From: Juan Lucas Cervera, August 25, 2000
  7. Re: new species for the Netherlands????
    From: Peter H. van Bragt, August 9, 2000
  8. Re: A new species for the Netherlands????
    From: Juan Lucas Cervera, August 6, 2000
  9. A new species for the Netherlands????
    From: Peter H. van Bragt, August 5, 2000

Show factsheet and all related messages