Re: Pteropod or Heteropod

January 31, 2002
From: Judy Judd

Dear Dr. Rudman,
Thank you for your message about my mystery animal. I do have another picture of it, but it doesn't show the entire creature. It does show the top of the animal, and two distinct fins.

I took these pictures in the open sea, and I apologise for the quality of the images. I snapped them quickly as I descended on my dive and the water was murky.

There was a group of these animals, maybe 20 of them, in this area at the time. I only saw them once, though.

I could be overestimating the size of the animal by a bit, but I am sure that it was more than 8cm long. It had no shell. I'm sure of that. To clarify what I meant when I said that the creature was 6 to 7 inches long. That was from the fins to the end of the thin appendage that trails behind the thing in the first picture and below it in the second. The fins were about 3 inches wide, from tip to tip. Could that appendage be an egg case?

I'm sorry, I know next to nothing about pelagic snails, so if my questions seem uninformed, it is because I am uninformed.

Thank you again,
Judy Judd

judyjudd@earthlink.net

Judd, J., 2002 (Jan 31) Re: Pteropod or Heteropod. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/6129

Dear Judy,
Thanks for the extra photo and information. I wish it had helped me identify it for you but I'm afraid it doesn't. Most of us are very underinformed about pelagic snails and slugs. Most studies on these animals on these animals are based on preserved specimens or living specimens in various sized dishes, bowls and aquaria. While this could give us a good idea on their anatomy it gave us no clues about their biology and natural history. If you want some good information on the bilogy of living animals, have a look at:

• Lalli, C.M. & Gilmer, R.W. (1989) Pelagic Snails. The Biology of Holoplanktonic Gastropod Molluscs. Stanford University Press: Stanford, California. 259pp

I am not sure if it is possible to still buy a copy, but if not it is worth harassing your local library to see if they can get one on loan.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2002 (Jan 31). Comment on Re: Pteropod or Heteropod by Judy Judd. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/6129

Factsheet

Pteropods

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