Info about Berghia verrucicornis

July 2, 1998
From: Michael Phan

About a species
Hi there, I was surfing the net to looks for a specific species of the nudibranch family. It is called the Berghia verrucicornis, now I have never seen the creature and that is pretty bad because I need to identify the creature and locate where it is so that I can continue my research on the creature and it's diet of the Aiptasia.
If you can help me with those then I would be very greatful.
Thanks

Michael Phan
Hoxton Park,
New South Wales,
Australia

septjune@hotmail.com

Phan, M., 1998 (Jul 2) Info about Berghia verrucicornis. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/35

Dear Michael, I'm afraid it is not a very good animal to study in Australia because its normal home is the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of a particularly interesting group of aeolid nudibranchs which keep single-celled plants (zooxanthellae) alive in their bodies and take the sugars the plants produce and use them for their own nutrition. I describe them as "Solar-powered" because they get much of their energy from sunlight (via the plants). Have a look at the Solar-powered nudibranch page for more information on this animal-plant relationship. Most of the nudibranchs which have zooxanthellae in their tissues, get them by eating another animal which already has zooxanthellae. Berghia verrucicornis feeds on sea anemones, and in North America the anemone it commonly eats is Aiptasia, which can have zooxanthellae in its body. Aquarium hobbyists in the USA are interested in Berghia because at times Aiptasia can become a pest in aquaria. The sea anemone breeds by breaking off parts of its foot and each piece can grow into a whole animal. Clusters of Aiptasia can quickly cover the sides of an aquarium. Berghia is quite useful in keeping down the numbers of the sea anemone in an aquarium. Some further information on Berghia verrucicornis can be found at the following websites. Unfortunately I don't know of a good photo of it on the web. I have also added some information on Spurilla australis which is a similar Australasian species... Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 1998 (Jul 2). Comment on Info about Berghia verrucicornis by Michael Phan. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/35

Factsheet

'Berghia verrucicornis' in aquaria

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