Nembrotha lineolata laying eggs

May 22, 2002
From: Mary Jane Adams


Hi Bill,
Here are two views of Nembrotha lineolata laying eggs. Do you think it is significant that this ascidian-eating slug has chosen to deposit it's eggs on the solitary tunicate, Polycarpa aurata? In the side view I can see how the foot plays a role in pressing the egg ribbon onto the substrate. Divesite: Batu Sandar, Lembeh Strait, Sulawesi, Indonesia

Best regards,
Mary Jane

divepng@yahoo.com

Adams, M J., 2002 (May 22) Nembrotha lineolata laying eggs. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/6854

Thanks Mary Jane,
It's probably not significant that it is laying its eggs on the large solitary ascidian, although I suppose it is possible that it eats this ascidian as well as the smaller ones. Many nudibranchs, and other opisthobranchs, such as the sacoglossans, lay their eggs on their food, primarily because the adult lives on its food. This really only has value to the next generation in species with an abbreviated developmental cycle, especially in those in which the hatchlings are minute slugs which crawl out of the egg mass straight on to their preferred food. From Jim Anderson's photos of the egg ribbon, I am pretty sure that N. lineolata has planktotrophic veliger larvae, so where the egg ribbon is laid is probably unimportant.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2002 (May 22). Comment on Nembrotha lineolata laying eggs by Mary Jane Adams. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/6854

Factsheet

Nembrotha lineolata

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