Polycera atra from California
November 5, 2007
From: Clinton Bauder
Hi Bill,
Found about 20 of the these Polycera atra on a Macrocystis kelp blade near the end of a dive. Interestingly, these were the only examples of this species I found despite examining dozens of similar looking kelp blades. Not sure why this one was special.
Locality: Pfieffer Point, 6 meters, California, USA, Pacific, 28 September 2007, Macrocystis Kelp Blade . Length: 7 mm. Photographer: Clinton Bauder.
gecko1@apple.com
Bauder, C., 2007 (Nov 5) Polycera atra from California. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/20863
Hi Clinton,
Hard to say why they were all in a group on a single kelp blade, but they were certainly taking advantage of the opportunity to procreate. I am assuming that the other blades were equally covered bryozoans.
It is also noteworthy that the bryozoan is Membranipora, no Bugula in sight. This could account for the light coloration of your specimens.
Our Best,
Dave Behrens
Related messages
-
Re: Polycera atra from California
From: Wesley M.Farmer, July 1, 2008 -
Polycera atra - feeding juveniles
From: Bruce Wight, August 3, 2007 -
Polycera atra - mating juveniles
From: Michael Jimenez, June 11, 2005 -
Polycera atra from California
From: Chris Grossman, July 12, 2004 -
Polycera atra(?) from California
From: Daniel Geiger, September 20, 2002 -
Re: Polycera atra(?) from California
From: Dave Behrens, September 20, 2002 -
Photos of Polycera atra
From: Bruce Wight, July 7, 2000 -
Polycera atra? juvenile
From: Bruce Wight, July 5, 2000