Re: Hermaphroditism & evolution
November 21, 2001
From: Dave Behrens
Bill:
I have communicated with Katie and she has shared photos of her "sea hares" with me. Her critter turns out to be the cephalaspidean, Haminoea vesicula (Gould, 1855). The attached photo of this species was taken by Gary McDonald from Morro Bay, California in 1971, where it is very common.
An additional comment about Katie's collection area. Lake Merritt is a large lake in the center of downtown, Oakland, California. This is the site of the early collections of, introduced species expert, James T. Carlton, and supports quite an opisthobranch population. The "lake" is actually a arm off the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay and is subjected to tidal movements which "flush" it twice a day, keeping its saltwater fish and invertebrate population healthy and happy.
Dave Behrens
dave@seachallengers.com
Behrens, D.W., 2001 (Nov 21) Re: Hermaphroditism & evolution. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/5674Thanks Dave,
Lake Merritt sounds just the right place for a species of Haminoea - as long as they are in a sheltered locality, they seem to be fairly easy to please. I think I have mentioned somewhere else in the Forum about finding a thriving population of the New Zealand species, H. zelandiae, on the roof of 4 storey waterfront building, which was flooded with seawater and used as a cooling pond for a refrigeration plant.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
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