Hypselodoris bullocki mating

December 18, 2002
From: Mary Jane Adams

Hi Bill,
These mating Hypselodoris bullocki are the same color, but vastly different in size. The little one was only about 2cm. long, less than half the size of the larger one. Divesite: Nudi Falls, Lembeh Strait, Sulawesi Island, Indonesia, Nov. 22, 2002.
Best regards,
Mary Jane

divepng@yahoo.com

Adams, MJ., 2002 (Dec 18) Hypselodoris bullocki mating. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/8663

Thanks Mary Jane,
It's not often you see such major size differences in mating pairs of nudibranchs, although pairs of quite small individuals are not uncommon. As I have said before, many opisthobranch exhibit what we call protandry, a developmental process in which the male reproductive system, in these hermaphrodite animals, develops much more quickly than the female system. We assume that in matings such as this, the sperm being passed to the smaller partner will be stored in a sperm sac until the animal's female system matures. This is a useful adaptation for animals which meet only by chance.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2002 (Dec 18). Comment on Hypselodoris bullocki mating by Mary Jane Adams . [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/8663

Factsheet

Hypselodoris bullocki - Page 3

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