Eubranchus cf. olivaceus
Order: NUDIBRANCHIA
Suborder: AEOLIDINA
Family: Eubranchidae
DISTRIBUTION
Atlantic coast of Nth America
PHOTO
Upper: Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA, 4 meters. Photo: Alan Shepard. Approx 9 mm long.
Lower: Gould, 1870 [Plate 16] 'Aeolis despecta Johnstone.
NOTE added 14 July 2003: Following Jeff Goddard's message suggesting that E. olivaceus is a synonym of Eubranchus rupium, I have moved the messages on this page to E. rupium.
This animal has previously been identified with Eubranchus olivaceus (O'Donoghue, 1922) from the Nth American west coast but I have my doubts. [See discussion below]. I have posted here illustrations from Gould (1870) of probably the same animal from Massachusetts 130 years ago.
References:
• Bleakney, J.S. (1996) Sea slugs of Atlantic Canada and the Gulf of Maine. Nimbus Publishing and The Nova Scotia Museum. 216pp.
• Gould, A. A. 1870. Report on the Invertebrata of Massachusetts, published agreeably to an order of the legislature. Second edition, comprising the Mollusca. Edited By W. G. Binney, v + 524pp. pls. XVI-XXVII. [Nudibranchia pp. 225-253, pls. 16-22]. Boston: Wright & Binney, State Printers.
• Lambert, W.J. (1991) Coexistence of hydroid-eating nudibranchs: recruitment and non-equalibrial patterns of occurrence. Journal of Molluscan Studies, 57(4), Supplement, T.E.Thompson Memorial Issue: 35-47.
• Meyer, K.B. (1971) Distribution and zoogeography of fourteen species of nudibranchs of northern New England and Nova Scotia. Veliger, 14(2): 137-152.
• O'Donoghue, C.H. (1922) Notes on the Nudibranchiate Mollusca from the Vancouver Island Region. III. Records of species and distribution. Transactions of the Royal Canadian Institute, Toronto, 14(1): 145-167.
Rudman, W.B., 2003 (May 15) Eubranchus cf. olivaceus [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet/eubrcfoliv
