Re: Trapania brunnea from Bare Island, Sydney N.S.W

October 19, 2009
From: Nick Missenden

Concerning message #14738:

Hi Bill,

I was working on my website and in particular writing a page on  Trapania brunnea and where to find them for our local divers and wondered if you knew the name of the white sponge on which we find them here at Bare Island, Sydney. Also I noticed when scanning the other messages on this species that all the other pictures show that the nudibranch is very dark and the rhinophores were either partially or fully coloured. In comparison the Trapania I have sent in to you for identification and all the others I have seen at Bare Island are pale in colour and have no colouration on their rhinophores. Is this a normal variation for this species?

Locality: Bare Island, La Perouse, 16 m, NSW, Australia, Botany Bay, 2 October 2005, Broken reef, sandy bottom. Length: 10 mm. Photographer: Nick Missenden.

Kindest Regards,
Nick

njmpm@iinet.net.au

Missenden, N.J., 2009 (Oct 19) Re: Trapania brunnea from Bare Island, Sydney N.S.W. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/22687

Dear Nick,

Specimens from New South Wales seem to be a bit paler in colour, but you will note that even the dark brown ones have the small colourless spots all over the the brown patches.

I am pretty sure the sponge is Holopsamma laminaefavosa, but I am not an expert in sponges so you would need get it checked. This is the name used by Graham Edgar in Australian Marine Life: the plants and animals of temperate waters. (2000) Reed New Holland: Sydney. As the author made every effort to check his identifications, I am fairly confident it will be correct.

As I have said quite often, species of Trapania are often found on various sponges and were previously thought to eat them, but we now know they actually eat small stalked animals called kamptozoa which live on sponges

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2009 (Oct 19). Comment on Re: Trapania brunnea from Bare Island, Sydney N.S.W by Nick Missenden. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/22687

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