Jorunna from Tristan da Cunha

November 18, 2009
From: Sue Scott


Note: For cross-reference I have posted 3 copies of this message. This copy deals with Jorunna sp. - Bill Rudman

Hello Bill,

I consult your very informative website from time to time to try & identify seaslugs. I'm a marine biologist normally resident in Scotland but I've been running a marine project on Tristan da Cunha for the past few years. Because the island is so isolated and geologically young it has a weird & wonderful fauna, mostly derived from waifs & strays rafted there on marine debris, both natural and manmade. Attached are 3 photos of seaslugs from Tristan, which I have tentatively identified as Tyrinna nobilis [message #22796], Doris/Anisodoris fontainei [message #22798] and Jorunna tomentosa. I'd be grateful for your expert opinion on these ids. Many of Tristan's animals also occur in Chile & Argentina, as is the case with the first two of these seaslugs. If the Jorunna is correct, it maybe came from the South African side.

Locality: Tristan da Cunha, Intertidal pools east of Harbour, British Overseas Territory, South Atlantic Ocean, 2004-2007 (dates available), Extremely exposed rocky coasts. 37 03' 50.94"S, 12 18' 43.64"W. (position derived from Google Earth; note decimal seconds) Photographer: Sue Scott

Regards,

Sue



suescott153@btinternet.com

Scott, S., 2009 (Nov 18) Jorunna from Tristan da Cunha. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/22799

Dear Sue,

Certainly this looks like a species of Jorunna but without looking at its anatomy it might be difficult to identify it to species. It certainly could be J. tomentosa which is found from nthn Europe south to South Africa, but it also has similarities to Jorunna spazzola (Marcus, 1976) which was described from Brazil but has since been reported as far north as the Caribbean and across to the Mediterranean (Camacho-Garcia & Gosliner, 2008).

I am afraid the genus Jorunna is probably not the best for bio-geographical studies as I suspect it will be a while before we have the species sorted out. Unless some one offers a better idea, I think I will leave your animal as a tentative J. tomentosa.

  • Camacho-Garcia, Y. E., &  Gosliner, T.M., 2008. Systematic revision of Jorunna Bergh, 1876 (Nudibranchia: Discodorididae) with a morphological phylogenetic analysis. Journal of Molluscan Studies 74(2):143-181.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2009 (Nov 18). Comment on Jorunna from Tristan da Cunha by Sue Scott. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/22799

Factsheet

Jorunna tomentosa

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