Re: The Elusive Warty Sea Slug

April 7, 2008
From: Kelly Kingon


Concerning message #14223:

Hi,
So I finally found another Dendrodoris warta. This time at a different spot but probably only a few miles away. There were also Hypselodoris picta at this site which I have collected in the past as they are quite common around here at least as far as nudibranchs go. Anyway I decided to keep this D. warta as well for my fish tank in order to learn a little about its behavior and to be able to take some pics of it; once again I didn't have my camera underwater with me. Anyway here are a couple quick shots I took of its ventral side and as you can see, no white spots. Let me know if there is anything you would like pics of or information on. I'm not sure what it eats up here. I found it on the sand but there are a few sponges in my tank for it to try.

Locality: south of St. Teresa, 45 feet, Florida, USA, Gulf of Mexico, 02 April 2008, natural hard bottom ledge. Length: 6 inches. Photographer: Kelly Kingon.

Kelly Kingon

kingon@bio.fsu.edu

Kingon, K.C., 2008 (Apr 7) Re: The Elusive Warty Sea Slug. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/21492

Thanks Kelly,
I hope it can find a sponge to its liking in your aquarium. As you have probably gathered, our knowledge of the diet of most species is very poor, partly because identifying sponges is probably more difficult than identifying nudibranchs.

Your mention of H. picta being quite common sounds interesting. We have little information outside the Mediterranean on the food of this species [or group of species?] so photos of it on it food sponge, preferably feeding, and photos of its egg ribbon would be valuable.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2008 (Apr 7). Comment on Re: The Elusive Warty Sea Slug by Kelly Kingon. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/21492

Factsheet

Dendrodoris warta

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