Not sure if this IS a sea slug?

April 26, 2006
From: Mary Patterson

Hello,
I'm sending an image with this letter, hoping you can identify this interesting organism that I saw on a recent trip to Australia.

It was found along Alexandria Beach at Noosa National Park, in Eastern Australia. The size is about 5 cm diameter. A marine biologist in the states suggested a shell-less mollusk, but we were uncertain. As I've only ever seen one nudibranch in real life, I'm quite unclear as to which one of these is might be (or if it's even something else!).

Locality: Alexandria Beach, Noosa, on wet sandy beach, Queensland, Australia, Pacific Ocean, 23 March 2006, intertidal, clean sand. Length: 5 mm. Photographer: Mary Patterson.

This is a wonderful website; quite a resource! Thanks for any help you can give identifying this mystery (to me) organism!

Sincerely,
Mary Patterson

maryjpatterson@yahoo.com

Patterson, M., 2006 (Apr 26) Not sure if this IS a sea slug?. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/16367

Dear Mary,
It looks quite sad lying there looking a bit like a bedraggled dead bird. It is indeed a nudibranch, and its name is Glaucus atlanticus. Have a look at the species Fact Sheet and the related messages at the bottom of the page for information on this spectacular - when alive - animal.

I hope you enjoyed your visit to Australia
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2006 (Apr 26). Comment on Not sure if this IS a sea slug? by Mary Patterson. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/16367

Factsheet

Glaucus atlanticus

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