Petalifera ramosa mating?

November 1, 2007
From: Leanne & David Atkinson


Dear Bill,
We found what we think is Petalifera ramosa mating, or about to mate, and they are two different colour forms. One is brown and one is green. There were quite a few of them on the green leaf like seaweeds. We thought this might be of interest both as a possible food item and also because of the two colours together.We also found some seahare type eggs on one of the leaf like seaweeds nearby and thought it may belong to them.

Locality: The Pipeline, Nelson Bay, Port Stephens, 8 metres, New South Wales, Australia, Pacific, 20 October 2007, Silty sandy bottom with scattered seaweed, sponges, algae, ascidians, bryozoans and gorgonians. Length: 50 mm. Photographer: Leanne & David Atkinson.

Thankyou as always for the wonderful work that you do on the forum..
Best wishes,
Leanne & David Atkinson

atk@hunterlink.net.au

Atkinson, L. & D., 2007 (Nov 1) Petalifera ramosa mating?. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/21017

Dear Leanne & David,
Thanks for these great photos which show the shape and colour variability very well. You can also see the branching papillae in varying degrees of expansion - in some cases you wouldn't know there were extensile papillae hidden in the blunt tubercles at all. I assume that mating is on their minds.

It would be interesting to know what this species ate. The leaves in your photos are those of a sea-grass - probably a species of Halophila, but I am not sure if any sea hares actually eat flowering plants like the sea grasses. Some seem to be always associated with sea grasses, but I think it's a habitat rather then a food. For example Phyllaplysia taylori leaves 'feeding scars' on the Zostera it is always found on but from the literature it seems the assumption is that the scar is what the army would call 'collateral damage' caused as the animal scrapes the diatom and bacterial film of the sea grass leaf. 

I am not sure if the egg mass is from this species. It is certainly a sea hare egg mass but I don't know if Petalifera ramosa has this tangled spaghetti-like egg mass like species of Aplysia, or a flattened egg ribbon like Dolabrifera.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2007 (Nov 1). Comment on Petalifera ramosa mating? by Leanne & David Atkinson. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/21017

Factsheet

Petalifera ramosa

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