Photos of Flabellina bilas

June 28, 2000
From: Scott Johnson

Hi Bill,

Looking over some of last year's messages, I noticed your request for photos of Flabellina bilas. Here are shots of two different individuals from Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands. Both were in the 45-55mm range.

Scott

johnson@kmr.ll.mit.edu

Johnson, S., 2000 (Jun 28) Photos of Flabellina bilas. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/2626

Dear Scott,
Thanks for your photos. I am particularly pleased with the UPPER photo which clearly shows the paddle-shaped oral tentacles. I have seen these in specimens of Flabellina bicolor and in a photo of F. bilas in Gosliner & Willan's paper. However no one seems to have commented on it. To see them sofly 'banging' their paddles down on the substrate as they crawl along is a quite remarkable sight. I don't understand its function and I have seen animals with apparently normal oral tentacles, so I can't even guess what's going on.

If you, or anyone else, has noticed this behaviour in any Flabellina I would be interested in hearng about it.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.

Rudman, W.B., 2000 (Jun 28). Comment on Photos of Flabellina bilas by Scott Johnson. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/2626

Factsheet

Flabellina bilas

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