Armina sp. 9

Order: NUDIBRANCHIA
Suborder: ARMININA
Family: Arminidae

PHOTO

Little Beach, Port Stephens, NSW, Australia. Depth: 8 metres. Length: 50 mm. 9 April 2005. Sandy bottom with scattered sponges & soft corals. Photographer: Leanne & David Atkinson

Note added 15 March 2010: This animal has similarities to Armina papillata Baba, 1955. See message #22328].

Authorship details
Rudman, W.B., 2005 (April 17) Armina sp. 9 [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/armisp9

Related messages


Re: Feeding observations on Armina sp. 9

April 19, 2005
From: Kathe R. Jensen

Dear Bill,

I don't know if you have looked at the description of Armina papillata Baba, 1933, but it seems to me that Armina sp. 9 is rather similar to that. I found specimens in Hong Kong that I identified with A. papillata though the colour of the dorsal surface was grey rather than black. However, the papillae on the head seem very similar. Other species with papillae are A. gracilis (Bergh, 1874), A. lugubris (Bergh, 1874), A. petersi (Bergh, 1866) and A. comta (Bergh, 1880). The number of papillae on the head differ in these species, and also the number of lateral lamellae (on the ventral surface of the mantle skirt).

I have discovered a very poor scan of the Armina papillata from Hong Kong. It was scanned from an old slide, so probably the poor quality is more the age of the slide than the scanner.

The specimen had been trawled during an international workshop.

Locality: Hong Kong. Depth: unknown. Hong Kong, South China Sea, Length: 60 mm. 17 April 1995. trawled. Photographer: Kathe Jensen

  • Jensen, K.R. 1997. The Arminidae (Mollusca: Opisthobranchia) of Hong Kong. In: The Marine Flora and Fauna of Hong Kong and Southern China IV (ed. B. Morton), pp. 159-187. Hong Kong University Press.

Best wishes,
Kathe

krjensen@zmuc.ku.dk

Jensen, K.R., 2005 (Apr 19) Re: Feeding observations on Armina sp. 9. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/13580

Dear Kathe,

Thanks. You are probably correct, but I think I will wait until someone reviews the family.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2005 (Apr 19). Comment on Re: Feeding observations on Armina sp. 9 by Kathe R. Jensen. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/13580

Identity of Armina sp. 9

April 19, 2005
From: Bill Rudman

I note that Debelius (1996) has a photo from eastern Australia of the arminid in the Atkinson's recent message [#13514 ] which he identifies as Armina japonica. I assume he is referring to Armina japonica (Eliot, 1913), which was redescribed by Baba (1949). It is definitely not that species, which has a smooth oral veil - no papillae, and the foot and oral veil are purple with a yellow border.

  • Baba, K (1949) Opisthobranchia of Sagami Bay collected by His Majesty The Emperor of Japan. Iwanami Shoten, Tokyo. 194pp., 50 Pls.
  • Debelius, H. (1996) Nudibranchs & Sea Snails Indo Pacific Field Guide
    321 pages.
  • Eliot, C.N.E. (1913)  Japanese nudibranchs. Journal of the College of Science, Tokyo Imp. University, 35: 1-47. (Pls.1-2)

Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2005 (Apr 19) Identity of Armina sp. 9. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/13497

Feeding observations on Armina sp. 9

April 18, 2005
From: Leanne & David Atkinson


Dear Bill,

We came across these small Armina feeding on a seapen. It was unusual because it was at 9:45am on a bright sunny day in clear water. We only usually see Armina's in late afternoon or night. We were very pleased with these shots of one feeding and thought it might be useful for the forum. Can you please help with a name for them? They don't seem to have the same markings as our usual Armina cygnea.

Locality: Little Beach, Port Stephens, NSW, Australia. Depth: 8 metres. Length: 50 mm. 9 April 2005. Sandy bottom with scattered sponges & soft corals. Photographer: Leanne & David Atkinson

Regards,
Leanne & David Atkinson

atk@hunterlink.net.au

Atkinson, L. & D., 2005 (Apr 18) Feeding observations on Armina sp. 9. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/13514

Dear Leanne & David,
Thanks for these great photos. If we had any doubt about what these fed on, your photos certainly remove any doubt. This is not one of the usual species you find in Port Stephens. It lacks to orange border to the oral veil and also the oral veil has rows of yellow -tipped papillae on each side. It also lacks the yellowish rhinophores. There are many species of tropical arminids which need to be sorted out so at present I'll call it Armina sp. 9.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2005 (Apr 18). Comment on Feeding observations on Armina sp. 9 by Leanne & David Atkinson. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/13514