Re: Tritonia hamnerorum in Bermuda

February 24, 2006
From: Kristen Whalen

Concerning message #14424:

In January 2003 and January 2006 I found 4-100 individuals of Tritonia hamnerorum per sea fan in shallow reefs off of Lee Stocking Island, Bahamas. It is not uncommon for this organism to kill its host. This is exactly what I look for when I am trying to find this cryptic nudibranch. I scan for dead patches or dying Gorgonia ventalina (purple sea fan) and I am sure to find the nudibranch. I have found individuals ranging in size from 1.5cm - 3 mm. I tend to find the larger individuals only in small groups of less than 50. While the small individuals can range in abundance from 100-1000 per sea fan.

A portion of my Ph.D. thesis concerns the biochemical mechanism these nudibranchs use to concentrate and detoxify gorgonian chemical defenses.

Locality: Woods Hole Oceanographic Inst., 5-35 feet, Mass., Caribbean, January 2006, On sea fans. Length: 1.5 cm (largest). Photographer: Kristen Whalen.

Kristen Whalen

kwhalen@whoi.edu

Whalen, K., 2006 (Feb 24) Re: Tritonia hamnerorum in Bermuda. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/15933

Dear Kristen,
Thanks for keeping us informed of your work. I look forward to any updates in the future
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Factsheet

Tritonia hamnerorum

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