Roboastra gracilis from SE Sulawesi

July 18, 2000
From: Lindsay Warren

Dear Bill

I thought you might be interested in this shot of a Roboastra gracilis which, when disturbed, opened the orange 'pores' along its body and released an acid yellow looking fluid - presumably its defense mechanism.

Until that point the orange spots had been quite insignificant.  Once the chemical had been released, they closed up again.  I found this chap on 1 September 1999 at a depth of 59 ft on dead table coral 'wafting' upside down.  L: 35-40 mm. Pulau Hoga, Tukang Besi Archipelago, SE Sulawesi, Indonesia (Operation Wallacea). Photo: Lindsay Warren.

All the best
Lindsay Warren

alldcl@compuserve.com

Warren, L., 2000 (Jul 18) Roboastra gracilis from SE Sulawesi. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/2722

Dear Lindsay,
Thanks for the photo. It is certainly a characteristic of this species to release this yellow secretion when disturbed. As you may have noticed, it can be a problem if you have other animals in a container with it, as it appears to be quite noxious to other sea slugs.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.

Factsheet

Roboastra gracilis

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