Re: Commensal bivalve - Sea Hare

June 17, 2002
From: Dr. Stephen R. Hoskins

Dear Bill,
I have attached the digital photo showing the bivalve attached to the sea hare, both of which I preserved. I have tried to "clean" up the bivalve part and hopefully its colour will be more appreciable against the dark sea hare.
Thanks,
Stephen.

SRH@4TheNet.co.uk

Hoskins, S.R., 2002 (Jun 17) Re: Commensal bivalve - Sea Hare. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/7271

Dear Stephen,
Thanks for the photo - it certainly puts a new light on your observation. The shell is in fact the shell of the Sea Hare. Have a look at the Sea Hare Shell page and my comment on the Sea Hare siphon for an idea on Sea Hare anatomy. In most species of Sea Hare the shell is well enclosed within the mantle tissue, but in a few species like A. punctata and A. parvula there is a wide opening [mantle foramen] in the mantle tissue exposing quite a bit of the shell to the outside world. When these animals get old and worn out, this opening gets bigger and bigger as the mantle tissue loses 'muscle tone' and the shell becomes even more exposed.

It would have been nice if you had found a new association for a galeommatid bivalve, as we know very little about their natural history, but at least its nice for you to know why these apparent bivalves were hanging on so tightly!
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2002 (Jun 17). Comment on Re: Commensal bivalve - Sea Hare by Dr. Stephen R. Hoskins. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/7271

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