Elysia tomentosa in the Mediterranean?

May 16, 2002
From: Baki Yokes

Dear Bill,
Concerning Rob Brown's message, here is some recent information about Elysia cf tomentosa from Turkey. This is the 2nd year that these animals are observed around Uc Adalar, Antalya, Turkey. We kept one of the specimens in an aquarium for a few days to observe its eating habit. Yes, the animal really eats Caulerpa racemosa, and also the local Caulerpa prolifera, but as far as we observe (for a limited amount of time unfortunately) it always prefers C. racemosa if both of them are present in the tank. The specimen was nearly half the size of the previous one that we have posted to the Forum, but it was able to spawn. I found the specimen near its egg mass but I couldn't take its picture. The little guy did us a favor before we let it go back to the sea, and left a beautiful egg mass on the wall of the aquarium.

The water temperature, where we have found the animal and its eggs, was about 18C. I'm not sure whether the animal spawned because of a normal reproduction event or because of stress, but I'm sure that this species is adapted to Mediterranean and within a few years it will become a common species on the C. racemosa fields around Uc Adalar-Antalya. Since we don't have C. taxifolia around Turkish coasts, we couldn't analyse whether this species can be a effective predator for the killer weed or not. We also found a new lessepsian species which I am sending in another message. Their potential to control C. taxifolia invasion should also be examined.

Photographic data:
Animal. Date: 28/04/2002, Antalya, Turkey
Divesite: Kakalak island, Uc Adalar
Depth: 20m, Size: 4.5 cm. Photo: Baki Yokes

Eggs. Date: 1/05/2002, aquarium tank
Size: 1cm in diameter. Photo: Baki Yokes

Best wishes
Baki Yokes

bakiyokes@turk.net

Yokes, B., 2002 (May 16) Elysia tomentosa in the Mediterranean?. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/6932

Thanks Baki,
Your animal is almost certainly a visitor from the Indian Ocean but it seems we still have to determine just what is Elysia tomentosa. Two things that will need to be determined is whether the number of folds along the edge of the parapodia are important in determining the species, and whether the white patch on the pericardial hump of some animals is characteristic. It would also be nice to have some photos of the egg ribbon(s) of Indo-West pacific animals to compare with yours.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2002 (May 16). Comment on Elysia tomentosa in the Mediterranean? by Baki Yokes. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/6932

Factsheet

Elysia tomentosa

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