Phyllaplysia padinae
Williams & Gosliner, 1973

Order: ANASPIDEA
Superfamily: APLYSIOIDEA
Family: Aplysiidae

DISTRIBUTION

Known only from the Gulf of California

PHOTO

Punta la Gringa, Bahia de Los Angeles in the Gulf of California, 31 May 2001. In brown alga Hydroclathrus clathratus. Photo: J. Goddard.

Phyllaplysia padinae was described as being olive-green to brownish green with random white spotting on the dorsal surface. No mention was made of the fine longitudinal lines seen in these photos. Some individuals at scattered brown mottling, and some had a few variably shaped papillae, some single, some with multiple tips. The rhinophores are short with noticeably enlarged tips. Williams & Gosliner also describe its characteristic crawling behaviour which consists of extending the anterior end forward, then anchoring it while the mid region is raised from the ground, pulling the posterior third forward. Then the posterior section is anchored while the anterior section is pushed forward. It was rewported to feed by scraping over the blade of the brown algae Padina durvillae ingesting the diatom layer and the outer layer of the alga. Grows to at least 45mm in length.

References:
• Williams, G. C. & T. M. Gosliner. (1973) A new species of anaspidean opisthobranch from the Gulf of California. The Veliger, 16: 216-232.

Authorship details
Rudman, W.B., 2002 (July 1) Phyllaplysia padinae Williams & Gosliner, 1973. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet/phylpadi

Related messages

  1. Phyllaplysia padinae from the Pacific coast of Mexico
    From: Kevin Lee, December 3, 2009
  2. Phyllaplysia padinae from the Gulf of California
    From: Jeff Goddard, July 3, 2002
  3. Egg ribbon of Phyllaplysia padinae
    From: Jeff Goddard, July 3, 2002

Show factsheet and all related messages