Thecacera pacifica - egg laying from Reunion

September 19, 2008
From: Philibert Bidgrain

Concerning message #9514:

Dear Bill,
Reunion Island seaslug

We have found these two strange specimens of Thecacera pacifica with black and white stripes. In the upper photo you can see the spawn, similar to that illustrated by Michael Miller [message #9514 ].

Locality: Longoni Harbourg, Mayotte Island, Indian Ocean, January 2008. Photographer: Emmanuel Eby.

Do you think that is a new colour variation for this species?

All the best
Philibert Bidgrain
http://vieoceane.free.fr/runseaslug/indexslug.htm

pbidgrain@yahoo.fr

Bidgrain, P., 2008 (Sep 19) Thecacera pacifica - egg laying from Reunion. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/21894

Dear Philibert,

Thanks for these photos. I can't recall seeing specimens with these extra black & white stripes on the body, but I would agree that this is almost certainly just a colour variant of T. pacifica. The only records I know from the western Indian Ocean are from Mozambique where Macnae (1958) described it unnecessarily as a new species, Thecacera inhacae. Macnae reported examining a 'large number of specimens' but all his animals apparently had the normal unstriped colour pattern. Gosliner (1987) reports a single specimen from Knysna, South Africa which also lacks stripes.

  • Macnae,W. (1958) The families Polyceridae and Goniodorididae (Mollusca, Nudibranchiata) in southern Africa. Transactions of the Royal Society, South Africa, 35(4): 341-372. (Pls.17-18)
  • Gosliner, T. M. (1987) Nudibranchs of Southern Africa, a guide to the Opisthobranchs of southern Africa. Monterey, Sea Challengers.  1-136.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2008 (Sep 19). Comment on Thecacera pacifica - egg laying from Reunion by Philibert Bidgrain. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/21894

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