Food of Ercolania boodleae

March 20, 2000
From: Yasuhiro Shirai

Dear Bill,
Thank you for your reply about Ercolania boodleae on Valonia.
Here is a photo of it with Valonia.
These animals (orange tips on their cerata) usually are on Valonia macrophysa.
And Valonia are worm-eaten gradually like this photo. I have often seen colonies of Valonia become gradually worm-eaten like this when Ercolania is present so I thought these animals eat Valonia macrophysa.

Best regards,
Yasuhiro Shirai

yasuhiro@e-net.or.jp

Shirai, Y., 2000 (Mar 20) Food of Ercolania boodleae. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/2125

Dear Yasuhiro,
Thanks for the photo. You may be right about them eating Valonia. All I know about Ercolania boodleae is what I have read in publications by Baba and Hamatani, where it is said that they feed on filamentous algae. Valonia quite often has a growth of filamentous algae over it so by grazing of this algal layer is certainly one way Ercolania could make Valonia look 'worm-eaten'. Feeding observations are always difficult. The only sure way is to watch a species actually feeding, but as we all know that is often easier said than done.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.

Rudman, W.B., 2000 (Mar 20). Comment on Food of Ercolania boodleae by Yasuhiro Shirai. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/2125

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