Side gill slugs from New South Wales

July 17, 1999
From: Grey McNeil

Hi Bill,
Is this a Pleurobranchus? I found them at Fly Pt Nelson Bay NSW Aust.in May 1996 at 12m.
They were about 20cm in diameter and mating. There egg mass was about 8cm wide and 2 meters long!!
Sorry about the quality but it was a bad viz night dive.

TOP: part of gill on right side.
BOTTOM LEFT: head region showing rhinophores.
BOTTOM RIGHT: Section of egg ribbon -white lines are strings of tiny eggs. [Reddish brown sacs are red alga.]
Thanks
Grey

GREYMACIND@bigpond.com.au

McNeil, G., 1999 (Jul 17) Side gill slugs from New South Wales. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/1018

Note: identified as P. hilli - 16 April 2003

Dear Grey,
Yes it is definitely a Pleurobranchus but I am not sure of the species. At the size you mention it is possibly a big Pleurobranchus forskalii but that's only a guess. As you can see above, P. forskalii usually has distinctive white markings in the darker colour forms.
Bill Rudman.

Factsheet

Pleurobranchus hilli

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