Chromodoris annae ? feeding on ascidians

January 14, 2010
From: Franca Wermuth


Concerning message #12079:

Are Chromodoris annae known to feed on sea squirts? It seems to me that these three nudibranchs are feasting on this Golden Sea Squirt.

I was also impressed by how good they were camouflaged with their yellow and blue on that sea squirt with the same colors.

Locality: Romblon, Cabanbanan Beach, 12, Philippines, Sibuyan sea, 30 September 2009. Photographer: Franca Wermuth.

Kind regards

Franca

franca.wermuth@gmx.ch

Franca Wermuth, 2010 (Jan 14) Chromodoris annae ? feeding on ascidians. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/23081

Dear Franca,

Thanks for this curious observation. All I can say is that as with Robert Sozzani's earlier message, which you refer to, chromodorids are not known to feed on ascidians.  Of course if you find one actually biting into one then we will need to think again. Why they are aggregated on this sea squirt I have no idea. Certainly all the existing evidence shows that they are very specific feeders on particular sponges.

Your animals also raise an identification problem which you first drew my attention to a couple of years ago [see message #20173]. At that time I suggested your animals were possibly a colour form of C. magnifica - but I must admit my reasons don't sound that convincing on re-reading. There is also the possibility that they are C. michaeli. I am not convinced they are C. annae but I can't really offer a better alternative. I think we need to do more work on this group of species - including of course C. westraliensis.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2010 (Jan 14). Comment on Chromodoris annae ? feeding on ascidians by Franca Wermuth. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/23081

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