Reticulidia halgerda from the Solomon Islands

February 4, 2001
From: Mary Jane Adams

Hi Bill,
I saw this Reticulidia halgerda sitting on the same spot over several days. It was on a point of Karumolun Island, Russell Group, Solomon Islands
Length: 18 mm
Depth: 7 meters
November, 1999
Best regards,
Mary Jane

divepng@yahoo.com

Adams, M.J., 2001 (Feb 4) Reticulidia halgerda from the Solomon Islands. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/3693

Dear Mary Jane,
I wonder if it had found a nice source of food? It might be worth having a look to see if an animal is feeding, or egg laying, or perhaps brooding an egg mass, if you find it in the same spot for a lengthy period of time.

I suspect with phyllidiids, such as Reticulidia you might need to lift them up to see if there is obvious damage to a sponge beneath them. Phyllidiids, have lost their rasping radular teeth so apparently feed by sucking in the sponge tissue after it is reduced to a 'soup' by digestive enzymes 'spat out' through the proboscis. If you lifted one up and it was feeding you would probably find an extended tube-like proboscis. A photo of the sponge it was feeding on, if not a sample of the sponge, would be a valuable bit of information to have about their natural history.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.

Rudman, W.B., 2001 (Feb 4). Comment on Reticulidia halgerda from the Solomon Islands by Mary Jane Adams. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/3693

Factsheet

Reticulidia halgerda

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