Chelidonura electra
Rudman, 1970

Order: CEPHALASPIDEA
Family: Aglajidae

DISTRIBUTION

Tropical Indo-West Pacific.

PHOTO

UPPER: Angourie pool, Clarence River Heads, New South Wales, March 1971. (35mm long alive). Can grow to 80mm long.
LOWER: Fungu Yasin, off Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, November 1976.
PHOTOS: Bill Rudman.

This brilliantly coloured species is often found crawling over coral colonies. Apart from its distinctive colour it is characterised by the large fleshy left "tail". A similarly coloured species, Chelidonura pallida, also has black markings.

Reference:
• Rudman, W.B., 1970. Chelidonura inornata Baba and C. electra sp.nov. from the Solomon Islands (Opisthobranchia, Aglajidae). Journal of the Malacological Society of Australia, 2: 7-12.

Authorship details
Rudman, W.B., 1998 (October 14) Chelidonura electra Rudman, 1970. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/chelelec

Related messages


Chelidonura electra from Madagascar

January 5, 2004
From: Valérie Grando


Hi
I found this in Madagascar and I do not know what is it. Is it a kind of Chelidonura?
Valérie
France

vgrando@nordnet.fr

Grando, V,, 2004 (Jan 5) Chelidonura electra from Madagascar. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/11748

Dear Valérie,
Yes this is a species of Chelidonura. It is C. electra, which is common on reefs throughout the tropical Indian and Pacific Oceans
Best wishes
Bill Rudman

Chelidonura electra in Papua New Guinea

January 29, 2000
From: Mary Jane Adams

Dear Bill,
Here is another shot of Chelidonura electra. It was taken on a coral reef in Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea, near Normanby Island, Nov. 17, 1995. I thought at the time that it was eating the polyps, but since reading your comments on the Forum, I learned that isn't true. In reviewing several photos, I can see that none of the polyps appears to be missing.
Thanks for the info!
Mary Jane

mjadams@earthlink.net

Adams, M.J., 2000 (Jan 29) Chelidonura electra in Papua New Guinea. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/1786

Dear Mary Jane,
Thanks for the photo. Before the evidence arrived for them eating flatworms I used to look at all the photos of Chelidonura crawling over soft corals, massive hard corals and sponges, wondering what on earth they were doing there. A number of coral reef books have captions saying they eat coral polyps.

Now we know, it seems so clear. So many of these colonial animals have infestations of acoel flatworms that it is the obvious place to find flatworm feeders. It's great to know that the Sea Slug Forum was the catalyst that enabled us to discover what Chelidonura feeds on.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.

Rudman, W.B., 2000 (Jan 29). Comment on Chelidonura electra in Papua New Guinea by Mary Jane Adams. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/1786

Chelidonura electra from Solomons

January 25, 2000
From: Mary Jane Adams

Dear Bill,

Here is the Chelidonura electra I mentioned in my message about mating & trail-following in Chelidonura inornata. This species also traversed the sponge, apparently following the same mucous trail.

Divesite: "Tuhlagi Twin Tunnels, a coral reef in the Florida Group of the Solomon Islands,12 meters, November 24, 1999.

Mary Jane Adams

mjadams@earthlink.net

Adams, M.J., 2000 (Jan 25) Chelidonura electra from Solomons. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/1778

Dear Mary Jane,
I think Chelidonura electra is one of the most beautiful of the opisthobranchs. It does not have the showiness or gaudy colours of a chomodorid but its simple lines and colour certainly give it class.

Bill Rudman.