It's a puzzle

May 10, 2002
From: Mary Jane Adams


Hi Bill,
Here's a riddle for you: Why did the nudibranch run around backwards with it's tail curled up?
Answer: because it was being carried by a crab. If you look closely at the first picture you can see two little legs under this Ceratosoma trilobatum. I flipped the slug over to get the second picture. After that, the carrying crab scurried underneath again and ran off with the slug standing on it's head. At that point I was laughing so hard I didn't get the picture.
There were a lot of C. trilobatum on this divesite. Many of them had imperial shrimp on them, but this was the only one I saw with a carry crab. I don't think the poor slug was benefitting from this association!
Divesite: Hairball Too, Lembeh Strait, Sulawesi,
Indonesia.

Best regards,
Mary Jane

divepng@yahoo.com

Adams, M J., 2002 (May 10) It's a puzzle. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/6855

Thanks Mary Jane,
As you suggest, this is one confused crab
Bill Rudman

Factsheet

Symbiosis, commensalism, mutualism and parasitism

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