Dolabrifera dolabrifera from Canary Islands

August 23, 2006
From: Christian Kowalewski


Dear Bill,

This was found in a rocky area near Cystoseira in Tenerife. We havent got any idea of what it is. There is a red and yellow one. I have a few other pictures of them but there were too many waves to stay longer there and I have only seen them once.

Locality: Tenerife Island, Canary Islands, 4 meters, Spain, Atlantic Ocean, 25 July 2006, On algal covered rocks. Photographer: Christian Kowalewksi

Thanks
Christian Kowalewski

moratorix@gmx.de

Kowalewski, C.J., 2006 (Aug 23) Dolabrifera dolabrifera from Canary Islands. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/17579

Dear Christian,
When I saw the photo of the reddish one my first thought was it was some sort of chiton, but your other photo showing the red and yellowish ones side on confirmed they are a species of Sea Hare. I am pretty sure they are Dolabrifera dolabrifera. This species has been reported from the Canary Islands (Ortea & Martinez, 1991), and can be very cryptically coloured

In your top photo the animal is very stretched out. Have a look at my earlier message [#9789] which described their very distinctive leech-like method of locomotion.

Ortea, J.A. & Martinez, E. (1991) El Orden Anaspidea (Mollusca: Opisthobranchia) en las Islas Canarias. Revista de la Academia Canaria de Ciencias, 3(4): 87-107.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2006 (Aug 23). Comment on Dolabrifera dolabrifera from Canary Islands by Christian Kowalewski. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/17579

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