Berghia coerulescens and egg ribbon?

October 14, 2008
From: Sylvie Grall

Concerning message #21858:

Dear Bill,
Could these eggs be the eggs of Berghia coerulescens? There were 2 specimens under a stone together with these eggs so I assumed they were related. But they look big to me. This shallow place has a lot of small anemones Aiptasia diaphana on the rocks, that could be their food.
I have been looking for this species for a long time. I'll try to find more information on their food habits.

Locality: La Madrague beach - Rosas, 1 m, Spain, Mediterranean sea, June 2007, Rocky water edge. Length: 2 cm. Photographer: Sylvie Grall.

Thank you,
Sylvie

sylvgrall@orange.fr

Grall, S., 2008 (Oct 14) Berghia coerulescens and egg ribbon?. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/21935

Dear Sylvie

Thanks for this record. I suspect this is the egg ribbon of Berghia coerulescens  but I can't find an illustration. Tardy (19620 described it as 'ruban festonné' which I translate as 'ribbon scalloped'  which could describe your egg ribbon. He also says the veliger larvae are quite large [250µm in diameter] which fits your large eggs as well. If anyone has a photo or can confirm these are the eggs of Berghia coerulescens, please let us know. Tardy also records it feeding on a species of Aiptasia, which follows the normal food choice of this family of aeolids [Aeolidiidae] which almost all feed on sea anemones.

  • Tardy, J. (1962) A propos des espèces de Berghia (Gastéropodes Nudibranches) des côtes de France et de leur biologie. Bulletin de l'Institut de l'Océanographie, Monaco, 1255: 2-18.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2008 (Oct 14). Comment on Berghia coerulescens and egg ribbon? by Sylvie Grall. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/21935

Factsheet

Berghia coerulescens

Related messages

  1. Re: Berghia coerulescens from French Mediterranean
    From: Dominique Horst, September 5, 2008
  2. Re: Is this a juvenile Berghia coerulescens?
    From: Miquel Pontes, May 2, 2008
  3. Berghia coerulescens from Croatia
    From: Duncan v Vliet, October 10, 2003
  4. Berghia coerulescens from French Mediterranean
    From: Marina Poddubetskaia, August 3, 2003
  5. Is this a juvenile Berghia coerulescens?
    From: Erwin Koehler, May 26, 2000

Show factsheet and all related messages