Cyerce cf. pavonina found sthrn Queensland

September 15, 2008
From: Gary Cobb


Hi Bill and everyone!
While diving last November, I happened to turn over a rock and there was this beautiful Cyerce cf. pavonina. I have in the past found Cyerce in rather shallow water or intertidal. To find this one in 14 m of water is quite a treat.

I have included two in situ photos One taken by me and one taken by David Mullins. I also included a ventral view showing the characteristic transverse groove.

Locality: Old Woman Island, Mooloolaba, Sunshine Coast, 14 mm, Queensland, Australia, Pacific Ocean, 03 November 2007, Subtidal. Length: 38 mm. Photographer: Gary Cobb and David Mullins.

Cheers
Gary Cobb

gary@nudibranch.com.au

Cobb, G.C., 2008 (Sep 15) Cyerce cf. pavonina found sthrn Queensland. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/21095

Dear Gary,

Thanks for this nice find. It is obviously the same species as Denis Riek's [message #19461] which I tentatively placed with Cyerce sp. 1, but with more material seems rather different. It also looks as though Cyerce sp. 3 is the same as Cyerce sp. 1 so that it looks as though some 'housekeeping' will need to be done by me.

As I said to Denis, if I hadn't seen the transverse groove in the sole of the foot I would have identified this as Polybranchia orientalis. What does puzzle me is why a number of websites identify your animal as Cyerce cf. pavonina when it has none of the characteristic features of that species. I have added a new Fact Sheet to show the essential features of that species.

Concerning your species, I know it is boring, but I think I should call it Cyerce sp. 4.

Just as a general point to everyone, When I use names like Cyerce sp. 4, and Cyerce cf. kikutarobabai, they have no official meaning and if you use them elsewhere it is important to add a reference to Rudman and the Sea Slug Forum so that if a reader sees the name somewhere he can check out what it means. I use 'cf' in a name just as a shorthand way to link an animal to a species it has some resemblance to. It doesn't mean I necessarily think it is closely related to the actual species, it just is a way to remind me -and you I hope - that it has something in common.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2008 (Sep 15). Comment on Cyerce cf. pavonina found sthrn Queensland by Gary Cobb. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/21095

Factsheet

Cyerce sp. 4

Related messages

  1. Cyerce sp from nthn New South Wales
    From: Denis Riek, June 28, 2007

Show factsheet and all related messages