Pauleo jubatus? from St. Vincent Islands?

December 12, 2005
From: Les Wilk

Hi Bill;

Could this be a Pauleo jubatus? Humann and Deloach ("Reef Creature Identification ") describe it as orange with white speckles, but their photo looks quite different from ours.

Locality:  West side, St. Vincent Island, Caribbean. Depth: 60-70 feet. Length: .25-.50 inch. July 2005. Sargassum on sandy slope. Photographer: Keri Wilk

Les Wilk

wilk@reefnet.ca

Wilk, L., 2005 (Dec 12) Pauleo jubatus? from St. Vincent Islands?. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/15440

Dear Les,
It has some similarities to Pauleo jubatus but differs in colour, the arrangement of the cerata, and the shape of the cerata. Pauleo jubatus has a creamy white line of irregular width, and sometimes broken, down the dorsal midline. Your animal has a broad yellow band down the dorsal midline than forks on the head to give a branch to each oral tentacle. It also has a broad yellow band down each side of the body below the cerata. In Pauleo jubatus the tip of each ceras is usually twisted so it sits pointing vertically, a feature not seen in your photos. Another possible difference is that P. jubatus is found on the gorgonian Plexaurella dichotoma, on which it feeds. Your mention of finding your animal on Sargassum suggests it is possibly a hydroid feeder rather than a gorgonian feeder.

I may be wrong but I can't find any described species description to fit your animal but someone with a personal knowledge of the Caribbean fauna can give us some ideas.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2005 (Dec 12). Comment on Pauleo jubatus? from St. Vincent Islands? by Les Wilk. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/15440

Factsheet

Unidentified - Caribbean and South America (Atlantic)

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