Melibe leonina larvae

March 8, 2004
From: Jen Massey

I'm trying to find out what the larvae of Melibe leonina eats ... any hints or references?

Thanks
Jen

jmassey@ucsc.edu

Massey, J., 2004 (Mar 8) Melibe leonina larvae. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/12368

Dear Jen,
Although all nudibranchs are carnivorous, their larvae, if free-swimming, all feed on single-celled algae. Usually in laboratories, commercial single species cultures are used.

You are fortunate that Melibe leonina is one of the few species whose larval development and metamorphosis has been studied in any depth. Bickell & Kempf (1983) fed their veliger larvae a commercial alga culture of Pavlova (Monochrysis) lutheri and when they metamorphosed into tiny crawling slugs, fed them unidentified ciliates which were cultured on rotting animal tissue, and supplemented this diet with the nauplii larvae of harpacticoid copepods.

• Bickell, L.R. & Kempf, S.C. (1983) Larval and metamorphic morphogenesis in the nudibranch Melibe leonina (Mollusca: Opisthobranchia). Biological Bulletin, 165: 119-138.

Are you planning to culture them yourself? If so, keep in touch, and let us know how you go.
Best wishes
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2004 (Mar 8). Comment on Melibe leonina larvae by Jen Massey. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/12368

Factsheet

Melibe leonina

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