Scyllaeidae from Bahia de Banderas, (2)

May 18, 2002
From: Alicia Hermosillo

Dear Bill,
Here is another of the scyllaeids which are causing me problems.

This specimen was observed at Playa Mismaloya, Bahia de Banderas, Pacific coast of Mexico, 26 feet deep on a rock that was covered with the alga you see in the picture. It was 20mm long with two other specimens (35 and 25mm) last April, 2002.

If I had to guess, I would say this animal is Scyllaea pelagica and the others in message 1 and message 2 are Crosslandia daedali but this one could also be a variation of C. daedali. What is your opinion?

Thanks a lot, I am really confused.
Ali

gueri25@hotmail.com

Hermosillo, A., 2002 (May 18) Scyllaeidae from Bahia de Banderas, (2). [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/6970

Dear Ali,
It's quite normal to be confused with these scyllaeids. They all look very similar externally. The radular morphology is quite a good character, at least at the genus level, but we have little knowledge of colour variation, and just how many species there are at present.

I am pretty sure this is a species of Notobryon. With some hesitation I will identify it with the Indo-West Pacific species Notobryon wardi. One point of interest is illustrated in the close-up of one of your photos alongside. See the branching ducts in the dorsal lobes. They look as though they are branches of the digestive gland, but in this family the digestive gland forms 3 distinct unbranched lobes. These ducts are in fact branches of the kidney.

I think this is the first record of this genus from the eastern Pacific.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2002 (May 18). Comment on Scyllaeidae from Bahia de Banderas, (2) by Alicia Hermosillo. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/6970

Factsheet

Notobryon wardi

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