Egg masses; Armina laying in sand

March 15, 1998
From: Leanne Atkinson

Here is some more photos of Armina cygnea which I took of the Little Beach, Port Stephens population. (19-24 January 1998, 9m). One picture shows the whole animal, head on, crawling across the sand. The others show them laying their very characteristic jelly-like egg mass which is anchored in the sand. As the pictures show they sit buried in the sand with only their head end exposed and swivel around as the egg mass is laid.

Leanne Atkinson.

atkin@hunterlink.net.au

Atkinson, L., 1998 (Mar 15) Egg masses; Armina laying in sand. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/2

Thanks for the excellent shots of Armina laying its egg mass. With these photos and Greg Convery's of it feeding, we now know much more about Armina cygnea than we did two weeks ago. Most nudibranchs lay their eggs on a hard surface and stick the egg ribbon down as it is being laid. Those that lay their egg mass on a soft bottom need to either find a piece of rock or shell buried beneath the surface to attach their egg mass to, or like Armina, anchor it in the sand with a long mucus string. Each white speck is an individual egg...Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 1998 (Mar 15). Comment on Egg masses; Armina laying in sand by Leanne Atkinson. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/2

Factsheet

Armina cygnea

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