Elysia cornigera (?) from Florida
December 21, 2000
From: Anna L. Bass
Hello Dr. Rudman,
I'm working in Florida and hoping to take a look at the systematic relationships among sacoglossans with emphasis on the Elysiidae. In the process of collecting some specimens in the Florida Keys during October of this year, I spotted two individuals of an Elysia species. (They were like little Christmas trees, which is appropriate for this time of the year!) I found them on a canal wall face just below the surface on Caulerpa verticillata. I managed to keep one alive for a couple of months and it reached a size of 4mm. The closest description of a named Elysia that I can find is that for Elysia cornigera Nuttall, 1989. Any help with the id would be appreciated. Sorry about the quality of the photos.
Thanks for providing such a wonderful resource and Forum.
Best Regards,
Anna L. Bass
abass@helios.acomp.usf.edu
Bass, A.L., 2000 (Dec 21) Elysia cornigera (?) from Florida. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/3410Dear Anna,
At 4mm you do not need to apologise for your photos!
It is definitely a pretty little animal and with those red spots it should be recognisable to someone. I'm afraid I am not familiar with the Nuttall reference and my database has let me down so if you could give me a full citation I would be grateful.
If you watch the Forum for the next few days I am sure we will get a name, if there is one. I am glad someone is continuing to work on the sacoglossans of the Caribbean. If you have photos of even the most common species, and are willing to send them to the Forum, I am sure a lot of us would be interested.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.
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