Mystery from the Philippines

April 21, 1999
From: Erwin Koehler

Bill,
This photo was made by my buddy Klaus Stark - email:K.Stark@t-online.de
It was taken at:
Philippines, Cebu Is., Moalboal housereef, 18m depth, March 1999, size about 12cm.
Erwin.

Medslugs.Koehler@t-online

Koehler, E., 1999 (Apr 21) Mystery from the Philippines. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/794

Dear Erwin,
I think this is not a nudibranch but an ovulid or 'False Cowry' which get their family name Ovulidae from often having an egg-shaped shell, and their common name from looking like a cowry (Cypraeidae) to which they are not closely related.

Ovulids usually hide their shells beneath large mantle flaps which are often brightly coloured. When I get a chance I'll prepare some information on them because they have interesting parallels with nudibranch evolution.

What puzzles me though are the two black 'tubes?' at the front of the animal. Is one a siphon? Is the other one a shadow? Are they enlarged tentacles? Perhaps there are two animals here? Although I try and display images at this size (300 pixels wide), so they load fairly quickly, it would be better, if possible, to send pictures to me a bit bigger so I can look for any important details which might help me in identifying the animals.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.

Rudman, W.B., 1999 (Apr 21). Comment on Mystery from the Philippines by Erwin Koehler. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/794

Factsheet

Berthella martensi

Related messages

  1. Variants of Berthella martensi from Reunion Island
    From: Hugues Flodrops, November 18, 2008
  2. Berthella martensi feeding
    From: Bruce Wilkie, October 5, 2007
  3. Berthella martensi from the Seychelles
    From: David K A Barnes, August 27, 2007
  4. Berthella martensi - feeding observation
    From: Alain BONNET, July 31, 2006
  5. Berthella martensi from the Philippines
    From: Carlos R. Munda, June 8, 2006
  6. Berthella martensi from Taiwan
    From: Ching-Yao Chan, April 15, 2006
  7. Berthella martensi mating
    From: Kevin Lee, February 11, 2006
  8. Berthella martensi from Queensland
    From: Daniel J. Foote, May 25, 2005
  9. White form of Berthella martensi from Reunion Island
    From: Philibert Bidgrain, May 20, 2005
  10. Berthella martensi from Indonesia
    From: Mike Oelrich, February 17, 2005
  11. Re: Berthella martensi from Thailand
    From: Erwin Koehler, December 11, 2003
  12. Berthella martensi from Thailand
    From: Mark Atwell & Dana Rayfield, December 8, 2003
  13. Berthella martensi from Mauritius
    From: Marina Poddubetskaia, November 15, 2002
  14. Sea Hares? in Pulau Aur, Malaysia
    From: Barbara Phua, September 30, 2002
  15. Berthella martensi from Tufi, Papua New Guinea
    From: Des Paroz, October 23, 2001
  16. Berthella martensi from the Solomons
    From: Bruce Potter, October 4, 2001
  17. Berthella martensi from NE Sulawesi
    From: Jim Anderson, August 10, 2001
  18. Berthella martensi with tubercles
    From: Mary Jane Adams, February 27, 2001
  19. Autotomy in Berthella martensi
    From: Mary Jane Adams, January 7, 2000
  20. Berthella martensi - pics and food info
    From: Bob Bolland, May 1, 1999
  21. Berthella martensi - feeding observation
    From: Clay Bryce, April 30, 1999
  22. Re: Mystery from the Philippines
    From: Erwin Koehler, April 22, 1999
  23. Re: Mystery from Philippines
    From: Bill Rudman, April 22, 1999

Show factsheet and all related messages