Janolus capensis
Bergh, 1907

Order: NUDIBRANCHIA
Suborder: ARMININA
Family: Zephyrinidae

DISTRIBUTION

Cape Province, South Africa.

PHOTO

Brazen Head, Transkei, SOUTH AFRICA - 28m. June 2000. UPPER PHOTO: = 60mm; LOWER PHOTO: = 20mm. Photos: Valda Fraser.

Apparently endemic to the southern tip of Africa. It feeds on the arborescent bryozoans Menipea triseriata and Onchoporella bushii and has been found from the intertidal to 40m. It is very similar in colour externally to Janolus longidentatus Gosliner, 1981. There are numerous anatomical differences but one 'external' difference is the shape of the eggmass. In J. capensis it is convoluted and globular with numerous (30-40) eggs per capsule, while in J. longidentatus the egg mass is a flat spiral with only 5-7 eggs per capsule. (Gosliner, 1981).

Reference:
• Gosliner, T.M. (1981) The south African Janolidae (Mollusca, Nudibranchia) with the description of a new genus and two new species. Annals of the South African Museum, 86(1): 1-42.

Authorship details
Rudman, W.B., 2000 (July 9) Janolus capensis Bergh, 1907. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet/janocape

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