About egg masses of Glaucus atlanticus

May 25, 2006
From: Irina Roginskaya

Concerning message #16534:

Dear Bill,
I couldn't find information from reliable sources about the coiled form of the egg masses of Glaucus atlanticus - except this one. The only mention about spiral spawns deposited by Glaucus I found in the Russian Monograph  Life of Animals,1968 (in Russian). The authors of the Part "Mollusca" in this book - two well known Russian malacologists (not "branchers") B.V. Vlastov and P.V.Matyokin, on pp.65-66, discussing the morphological differences enabling Glaucus to live at the surface layers of the sea, also touch upon the egg-laying of this slug.
" This slug deposits eggs in the form of spiral ribbon, sticking it to the bell of Velella, after eating the polyps of the Velella ". [my translation].

Most authors are of opinion that the eggs of Glaucus are deposited as short, straght lines. W. Macnae (1954, p.48} even emphasizes the fact that the egg masses are not coiled.
" From the lumen of the oviduct in the region of the albumen gland several short strings of eggs were removed. Similar short, uncoiled strings about 2cm long were laid by specimens kept under observation in finger-bowls. This method of egg-laying , which is so different from other Eolids, may account for the fact that the albumen gland is neither so voluminous, nor so thick walled as in other members of the order. Each of the strings contains about 12 to 20 eggs in a single series"

The egg-strings protruded from the oviduct of one specimen of Glaucus atlanticus from the Pacific Ocean in my catch (Roginskaya, 2006) were also in the form of short straight lines. The pictures of straight short egg-strings or its fragments were displayed in many publications (e.g. R. Bergh, 1864; A. Bebbington,1986; W.B.Rudman,1999; etc.). Maybe the unusual method of depositing eggs was evolved by Glaucus because of the difficulty of building regular spirals in mobile surroundings - the oceanic surface layers, subjected to the influence of winds and currents, where the main problem is the difficulty of keeping close to Chondrophora and quickly attaching eggs to the floating object.

  • Bebbington, A. 1986. Observations on a collection of Glaucus atlanticus Gastropoda, Opisthobranchia). Haliotis, vol.15, pp.73-81.
  • Bergh,Rud. 1864. Anatomiske Bidrag til Kundscab om Aeolidierne. Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskabs Skrifter, 5te Raekke, 7 te Band. 175 pp.
  •  Macnae, W. 1954. On some Eolidacean Nudibranchiate Molluscs from Southern Africa. Annals Natal Museum, vol.13, part.1,pp.1-50.
  • Roginskaya, I.S. 2006.(May, 9) Some notes about Glaucus atlanticus. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum.Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/16534
  • Rudman,W.B.1999 (May 16) Comment on eggs of Glaucus and Glaucilla by Bill Rudman. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum,net/find/867
  • Vlastov B.V. and Matyokin ,P.V. 1968. Order Acoela pp 62-67. In ; Life of Animals, vol.2. Invertebrates [Ed. L.A.Zenkevich.] Publishing House "Prosveschhenie".Moscow.

Irina Roginskaya

irina7@hotmail.com

Roginskaya I.S., 2006 (May 25) About egg masses of Glaucus atlanticus. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/16663

Dear Irina,
This suggestion that Glaucus can either lay a spiral egg mass or a straight string of free floating eggs is quite puzzling. Is there a drawing of the spiral egg ribbon in one of the Russian works you could send me a copy of? The straight string I am familiar with is cylindrical in shape and quite rigid. It seems to me it would need to be made differently to be deposited in a spiral.

It is certainly something that needs further investigation. Thanks for drawing our attention to it.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2006 (May 25). Comment on About egg masses of Glaucus atlanticus by Irina Roginskaya. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/16663

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