Re: Phyllodesmium iriomotense? from the Sulawesi
March 6, 2007
From: Pirjo Pellet
Concerning message #19396:
Hi Bill,
I thought you would be interested by these shots taken in Lembeh Straits October 2006 of this Phyllodesmium found feeding on this species of octocoral. It was at 25m deep on a sandy bottom with some coral rubble. This animal was translucent and totally colorless. I think it is the same species as in Ken's message. I had the same doubts about its ID as he did.
Locality: Lembeh Straits, 25m, Sulawesi, Indonesia, Celebes Sea, 19 October 2006, Sandy bottom with coral rubble. Length: 20 mm. Photographer: Pirjo Pellet.
Best wishes,
Pirjo Pellet
pirjo.pellet@free.fr
Pellet,Pirjo, 2007 (Mar 6) Re: Phyllodesmium iriomotense? from the Sulawesi. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/19492
Dear Pirjo,
At present, identifications of some of these species is difficult, without a knowledge of their anatomy. In general shape, arrangement of the cerata, and the way the digestive gland duct branches in each ceras, suggests this is P. iriomotense but there is always the possibility this is another unnamed species.
Many species of Phyllodesmium seem to be very specific in their food choices. Your animal seems to be on a cnidarian colony very similar to the one in Bob Bolland's photo [#188]. When I first saw your photo I thought the colony was a hydroid and wondered what a Phyllodesmium, which eats octocorals, was doing on it. However in a closeup of your photo [middle photo] the polyps have 8 branching tentacles [octo= 8], which is characteristic of octocorals. This seems to be another point in favout of identifying it asP. iriomotense.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
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