Nembrotha and Tunicate from the Philippines

February 13, 2003
From: Peter H. van Bragt

Bill,
Enclosed are two slides of a very distinct Tunicate and a small Nudibranch that is feeding on it. They are from Sabang, in the Philippines. Can you help me with the identification of the Nudibranch? Do you possibly also know the name of the Tunicate on which the Nudibranch is feeding and is this prey specific for the slug?

Best regards,
Peter H. van Bragt

vanbragt.phjm@hsbrabant.nl

Van Bragt, P., 2003 (Feb 13) Nembrotha and Tunicate from the Philippines. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/9151

Dear Peter,
I guess you found the Philippines a bit warmer than the Netherlands?

Your little animal is quite interesting. It does not fit any of the other named or unnamed 'red-spotted species' I know of except for Nembrotha sp. 12 from South Africa, both animals having a bluish edge to the foot. Concerning the identity of the tunicate [ascidian], it looks identical to one identified as Sycozoa sp. in Gosliner, Behrens & Williams (1996) Coral Reef Animals of the Indo-Pacific [#1067], a species they say is only known from the Philippines. This ascidian grows to about 25cm in height which would suggest your animal is 10-15mm long?

Basically I don't know how big your animal grows, whether it feeds specifically on this ascidian or not. As the ascidian is apparently not well known either I can't say whether it is likely to occur in South Africa either. It is an interesting find, but like so many such observations, it raises more questions than it answers.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2003 (Feb 13). Comment on Nembrotha and Tunicate from the Philippines by Peter H. van Bragt. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/9151

Factsheet

Nembrotha sp. 12

Related messages

  1. Re: Nembrotha and Tunicate from the Philippines
    From: Erwin Koehler, February 15, 2003
  2. Nembrotha sp? from South Africa
    From: Valda Fraser, July 24, 2000

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