Cuthona punicea egg masses

March 24, 2007
From: Jackie Hildering & Glen Miller

Hello Bill,
One of the challenges Glen and I have taken on is finding nudibranchs with their eggs masses. We believe that these may be those of Cuthona punicea, seen here clustering and proximity to the masses (see upper left of image). This is contrary to the literature that states that they only lay their eggs on the stalks of the raspberry hydroid (Corymorpha ).

Locality: Marg's Wall (Plumper Island Group), 40', British Columbia, Canada, Pacific Ocean, 18 March 2007, Wall. Length: 2.5 cm. Photographer: Glen Miller .

Hoping to stimulate the contribution of more egg mass photos from British Columbia.

Jackie

earthlingenterprises@telus.net

Hildering, J. & Miller, G., 2007 (Mar 24) Cuthona punicea egg masses. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/19722

Hi Jackie and Glen,

Well I certainly agree with you that these egg masses were laid by the abundant Cuthona punicea, you observed. I also believe that the hydroid seen in the bottom of the lower photo is what Lamb and Handy (2005) and my guide refer to as the raspberry hydroid. Your poor devils shown here are simply all eaten up.

Thanks for sharing this,
Dave Behrens

Behrens, D.W., 2007 (Mar 24). Comment on Cuthona punicea egg masses by Jackie Hildering & Glen Miller. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/19722

Factsheet

Cuthona punicea

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