Ercolania felina
(Hutton, 1882)

Order: SACOGLOSSA
Superfamily: LIMAPONTIOIDEA
Family: Limapontiidae

DISTRIBUTION

New Zealand

PHOTO

North Island, New Zealand. Photos: Cynthia Trowbridge.

Common in upper midlittoral pools on rocky shores, this small black sacoglossan feeds on the filamentous green alga Chaetomorpha aerea. The alga is often covered in oxygen bubbles it has produced in the often warm, hyposaline water. E. felina feeds on the liquid contents of the large swollen cells easily seen in the accompanying photos. It grows to about 8mm and is black except for a paler coloured foot and a translucent white band running forward from each eye.

References:
• Trowbridge, C.D. (1994) Life at the edge: population dynamics and salinity tolerance of a high intertidal, pool-dwelling ascoglossan opisthobranch on New Zealand rocky shores. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol., 182: 65-84.
• Trowbridge, C.D. (1995) Hypodermic insemination, oviposition, and embryonic development of a pool-dwelling ascoglossan (= sacoglossan) opisthobranch: Ercolania felina (Hutton, 1882) on New Zealand shores. The Veliger, 38: 203-211.

Authorship details
Rudman, W.B., 2000 (July 3) Ercolania felina (Hutton, 1882). [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/ercofeli

Related messages


Ercolania felina from New Zealand

July 4, 2000
From: Cynthia Trowbridge


Dear Bill,

With the recent discussion of the high intertidal, pool-dwelling ascoglossan (= sacoglossan) Ercolania boodleae and potential sibling species from Asia, I thought I would submit two images of the New Zealand Ercolania felina (Hutton, 1882). I worked on the ecology of this species on the North Island of New Zealand at Piha on the Tasman Sea and several sites on the east coast in the Hauraki Gulf. It is very common and feeds on the filamentous alga Chaetomorpha. Here are two relatively recent references:

•Trowbridge, C.D. (1994) Life at the edge: population dynamics and salinity tolerance of a high intertidal, pool-dwelling ascoglossan opisthobranch on New Zealand rocky shores. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol., 182: 65-84.
• Trowbridge, C.D. (1995) Hypodermic insemination, oviposition, and embryonic development of a pool-dwelling ascoglossan (= sacoglossan) opisthobranch: Ercolania felina (Hutton, 1882) on New Zealand shores. The Veliger, 38: 203-211.

All the best,

Cordially, Cynthia

Hatfield Marine Science Center
Oregon State University

trowbric@ucs.orst.edu

Trowbridge, C., 2000 (Jul 4) Ercolania felina from New Zealand. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/2644

Dear Cynthia,
Thanks for the photos of an old friend. It is certainly a remarkable animal living in high tidal pools on rocky shores often warm and highly saline. The title of your paper 'Life at the edge ...' is very appropriate.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.