Pleurobranchus spp
miscellaneous

Order: NOTASPIDEA
Superfamily: PLEUROBRANCHOIDEA
Family: Pleurobranchidae

A place for unidentified species and general discussion

Related messages


Juvenile Pleurobranchus from the Red Sea

November 2, 2005
From: Binyamin Koretz

Dear Bill,

This one looks to us to be a pleurobranchid, and in fact it appears in Lieske and Myers (Coral Reef Guide Red Sea, Collins 2004) as "Pleurobranchus sp". Have you seen it before?

Locality: Eilat, Caves, Israel. Red Sea (Gulf of Eilat). Depth: 11 m. Length: 6-7 mm. 25 October 2005 (night). patch reef, mostly dead. Photographer: Shulamit Koretz

Best regards
Binyamin

binyamin@koretz.net

Koretz, B., 2005 (Nov 2) Juvenile Pleurobranchus from the Red Sea. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/15131

Dear Binyamin,
Yes this is a Pleurobranchus, and from its size it is most probably a juvenile. As I have illustrated on the Fact Sheet for Pleurobranchus peroni, some species have quite a different colour as juveniles. Your animal is quite similar to P. peroni but the yellow spots and pointed papillae make me think it may be another species. I am afraid there is no way of knowing at present. The only way is to grow then in an aquarium - difficult - or over time photograph small pleurobranchs and see if you can put a series together - also difficult.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2005 (Nov 2). Comment on Juvenile Pleurobranchus from the Red Sea by Binyamin Koretz. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/15131