Costasiella sp. 3 from Bali

August 16, 2009
From: Douglas Hansen

Concerning message #21196:

Bill,

Attached are some photos of a sea slug we found in Puri Jati, Bali. My best guess is that they are a species of Stiliger, but I am not sure. They were quite common on the algae in that bay. They were quite small (4-8 mm), and I apologize for the poor quality of the photos. Even with a 50 mm macro lens they were difficult to photograph.

Locality: Puri Jati, 7 meters, Bali, Indonesia, Pacific Ocean, May 20, 2009, on algae in black sand bay. Length: 4-8 mm. Photographer: Douglas Hansen.

Thank you.

Doug Hansen.

mhel0323@sbcglobal.net

Hansen, D.S., 2009 (Aug 16) Costasiella sp. 3 from Bali. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/22533

Dear Doug,

This does look quite like Stiliger or one of the other sacoglossans which look like aeolids. It belongs to an interesting genus of sacoglossans which are most easily identified by having their eyes very close together in the middle of the head. I have included two close-ups from your photos which show this. The genus is Costasiella, and this species is what I am calling Costasiella sp. 3.

One other characteristic is that species of Costasiellaappear to specialise on living on, and eating the fan-shaped green alga Avrainvillea. It would be interesting to know if this is the type of algae your animals were found on

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2009 (Aug 16). Comment on Costasiella sp. 3 from Bali by Douglas Hansen. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/22533

Factsheet

Costasiella sp. 3

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