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I am away for 3 weeks

January 21, 2010
From: Bill Rudman

I am taking a short holiday in New Zealand, so for the next 21 days there is only a slight chance that new messages will be posted on the Forum. I hope you will all be able to manage your withdrawal symptoms. May I also wish you all a slightly late greetings for the New Year

Bill Rudman


Rudman, W.B., 2010 (Jan 21) I am away for 3 weeks. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/23135



Re: Nudibranch bibliography available online

September 25, 2009
From: Gary McDonald

Concerning message #17142:

Hi Bill:

I recently uploaded a new version of my nudibranch bibliography and systematic index. They are available at: http://repositories.cdlib.org/ims/. I have annotated the bibliography by listing the species mentioned in each article, which should make it more useful for finding information about a specific species. Comment, corrections, & additions for the bibliography are always welcome, but please remember that I created the bibliography & index for my own use, & I don't consider them to be polished, finished products. I also want to thank all those who regularly send me reprints of their articles for inclusion in the bibliography, and of course, I encourage others to send me reprints of nudibranch articles for inclusion in the next edition.

Cheers,
Gary

mcduck@ucsc.edu

McDonald, G. R., 2009 (Sep 25) Re: Nudibranch bibliography available online. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/22664

Dear Gary,

Thanks for your great work. I am having still having trouble editing parts of the Forum, including the websites section, but as soon as I can I will update the links

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2009 (Sep 25). Comment on Re: Nudibranch bibliography available online by Gary McDonald. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/22664

Happy New Year

January 8, 2009
From: Bill Rudman

Thanks to all of you who have sent me Christmas and New Year greetings. I am sure this year, like every year, will turn up its usual complement of interesting observations and new discoveries.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman, W.B., 2009 (Jan 8) Happy New Year. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/22131

I am away for 10 days

November 27, 2008
From: Bill Rudman

I am taking a short holiday, so for the next 10 days or so there will be no new messages posted on the Forum. I hope you will all be able to manage your withdrawal symptoms.

Best wishes
Bill Rudman

 

Rudman, W.B., 2008 (Nov 27) I am away for 10 days. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/22084

Re: Research Topic Ideas

July 3, 2008
From: Brian K. Penney

Concerning message #21658:

Drew-

Identifying planktonic larvae is incredibly difficult, even for seasoned experts, so I would stay away from this.

The other project you mention might be possible if you can identify a smaller chunk that is reasonable to do in a week. One possibility is simply quantifying how much the nudibranchs consume each day. Bryozoan colonies form in little cells for each individual, so it should be easy to count how many are consumed each day if you draw a "map" of each colony and note each day whether each individual is alive or gone.

However, all nudibranch species are very seasonal, so check guidebooks like Bleakney's before you go, to ensure the species in which you are interested will be present when you you are!

Good luck on your project!
Brian

bpenney@anselm.edu

Penney, B.K., 2008 (Jul 3) Re: Research Topic Ideas. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/21675

Research Topic Ideas

July 1, 2008
From: Drew Villeneuve

Hello,

I will be doing some research on the nudibranchs of Deer Isle (a large isle in Maine, USA). However, I am stuck between two research topics; a survey on the planktonic larvae of Nudibranchs, or another survey on the effectiveness of Onchidoris muricata on eliminating the invasive bryozoans, Membranipora membranacea and Electra pilosa on kelp. Do you have an idea of which one would be most feasable, seeing as to my limited time (1 week!) and my limited supplies (homemade plankton net, for example). I am in the process of contacting Maine's Department of Marine Resources. Any suggestions or help would be immensely appreciated.

Drew Villeneuve, 14
St. Albans School
Washington, DC

rville@mindspring.com

Villeneuve, A.R., 2008 (Jul 1) Research Topic Ideas. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/21658

Dear Drew,

You don't actually say when you are going to Deer Isle, but hopefully somone can give you some ideas brfore you go. If you look at the Onchidoris muricata Fact Sheet you will find some background information and links to some good references. I would certainly suggest you try and get hold of a copy of Bleakney, J.S., (1996) Sea Slugs of Atlantic Canada and the Gulf of Maine.

Even though I know nothing about the east coast of Nth America, but both your proposed projects seem to be much too big for one week's work. The topics are the sort of projects research students undertake at university over 2 or 3 years. While I am not suggesting you go to Deer Isle for a week's holiday, I think attempting huge projects like this with no time and little equipment, will only end up in great disappointment for you. Hopefully someone with local knowledge will contact you and be able to suggest a project which you will be able to complete in a week and will teach you something about nudibranchs and about research projects. Please let us know how you get on.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2008 (Jul 1). Comment on Research Topic Ideas by Drew Villeneuve. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/21658

Hacked but back

June 12, 2008
From: Bill Rudman

Many of you will have noticed strange message headings on the Forum for the last 2 days. Unfortunately the Forum has been the victim of an attack by a Hacker. We have been able to recover all our data as we back up daily. Protection from this type of hacking [SQL injection] is unfortunately still in its early days, but hopefully we now have the most up to date protection.  I am unable to fully express my feelings about hackers in public but I am sure you will all have a good idea how I feel.

Now for the bad news. I am taking 10 days holiday from tomorrow. I had hoped to build up a stock of answered messages to fill some of the next 10 days, but the hacker stopped that. So I am afraid there will be no new messages for a couple of weeks.

Best wishes
Bill

Rudman, W.B., 2008 (Jun 12) Hacked but back. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/21641

I am back

May 30, 2008
From: Bill Rudman

Sorry for stopping the posting of new messages without any warning but  I have been sick and needed to take a rest.  I hope to open the send a new message page in July. In the meantime I still have many waiting messages to post.

Best wishes
Bill

Rudman, W.B., 2008 (May 30) I am back. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/21595

I am back

January 31, 2008
From: Bill Rudman

I am sorry that the Forum has been closed a bit longer than I planned. After a relaxing holiday I am afraid I succumbed to some virus and haven't been near my computer for about a month. For anyone waiting for a response to any emails they may have sent I will get on to them as soon as I can. My plan with the Forum is to keep the new message form closed for a couple more weeks so I can deal with some of the the backlog. 

I will be posting new messages from the backlog from today.

I know it's a bit late but Happy New Year
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2008 (Jan 31) I am back. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/21351

Dear Bill,

--message--

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman


I am on holiday

December 14, 2007
From: Bill Rudman

I am going to on holiday until early January so the Forum is not accepting new messages at present as it will only increase the backlog of unanswered messages. When I return I plan to spend January answering and posting messages from the existing queue of unanswered messages. I plan to start receiving new messages again in February. Replies to existing messages can still be sent.

Thanks to everyone for their support and interest during the year. One major achievement was the completion of the review of feeding in the chromodorid nudibranchs which included new information on over 100 species [message #20272]. This would not have been possible without the many contributors to the Forum who provided photos and credible observations. It is a perfect example of the valuable contributions interested amateurs can make to our understanding of the biology and natural history of these fascinating animals.

For those of you who celebrate Christmas, may I wish you a merry Christmas, and for those of you who don't, the message of peace and goodwill is a universal wish. I just wish we could try harder.

Best wishes for 2008.
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2007 (Dec 14) I am on holiday. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/21309

Messages to Forum

October 18, 2007
From: Bill Rudman

Over the next few days I will probably not be posting any messages. I have a number of major commitments to complete and it is not leaving me with much free time. Hopefully I will only need 5 or 6 days

Best wishes
Bill

Rudman, W.B., 2007 (Oct 18) Messages to Forum. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/20979

Are there any sea slugs in my area?

September 24, 2007
From: Douglas Chee

Hey,
I'm Douglas and I'm 10. I am doing a school report on any animal and I wonder is there are any sea slug species near my area. I live in Queens, New York City, USA. 3 to 5 will be enough if there are any. Thanks!

From,
Douglas

agentmon@gmail.com

Chee, D., 2007 (Sep 24) Are there any sea slugs in my area?. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/20794

Dear Douglas,

I am sure there are sea slugs in the sea around New York, and since part of Queens in is by the sea I can't see why we can't say there will be some in your area. Unfortunately there is not much written about sea slugs on the Atlantic coast of the USA but here is a list of some sea slugs which have been reported to the Sea Slug Forum from near New York. If you look at the Fact Sheets and other messages attached to the Fact Sheets you will be able to find some information about the species. You will also see that some of them are found in Europe as well as North America

Cratena pilata [see Fact Sheet as well]
Doto sp.  [see Fact Sheet as well]
Aeolidia papillosa [see Fact Sheet as well]
Flabellina salmonacea [see Fact Sheet as well]
Pleurobranchaea obesa [see Fact Sheet as well]
Flabellina gracilis [see Fact Sheet as well]

Good Luck with your project,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2007 (Sep 24). Comment on Are there any sea slugs in my area? by Douglas Chee. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/20794

Sending messages to the Forum

August 3, 2007
From: Bill Rudman

When you send a message to the Forum you should, in a minute or so, get an automated receipt. You should later - not too much later I hope - get a message telling you when your message is being posted. This system of keeping you informed of the progress of your message only works if the email address you put in your message is correct.

I am alerted when one of these messages can't be delivered, and the number of mistyped email addresses is increasing. So when sending messages please check your email address.

Thanks
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2007 (Aug 3) Sending messages to the Forum. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/20389

Nudibranch Art

August 2, 2007
From: Ray Simpson

Here's something a little different from the stuff you usually get. I made this picture of the Caribbean Hypselodoris species using colored pencil. Thought you might enjoy this!

Ray Simpson

p51mustnb@aol.com

Simpson, R., 2007 (Aug 2) Nudibranch Art. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/20308

Thanks Ray,
In the relatively recent 'olden days' colour pencil and water colours were the usual way the colour of living animals was captured in the field and on expeditions. Some were pretty awful, but I always try and look through archive folders when I visit museum collections to see if they have any long lost illustrations.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2007 (Aug 2). Comment on Nudibranch Art by Ray Simpson. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/20308

Sending messages to the Forum

July 3, 2007
From: Bill Rudman

As some of you have been reminding me, there has been a message on the send message page saying I would open it again at the end of April when I returned from New Zealand.


Now at the end of June I am happy to say you can send messages again. Why has it been closed? When I returned from New Zealand and saw how many unanswered messages there were, I decided I should try and answer them before receiving any more. I receive between 10 and 15 messages a day and usually can only prepare and answer 5 or 6. So inevitably there is a backlog, and unfortunately there are messages which will never be posted. Most of the messages I have posted in the last 2 months have been from the backlog. A few of you realised there was a way of sending messages by using the Reply button at the top of each message. I did not publicise this as it would have defeated the purpose of slowing down the arrival of new messages while I dealt with older ones.

Happily most messages received this year have now been, or are about to be, posted. I still have many from last year which I will try and deal with in future months. Please don't flood me with all the messages you have been building up over the last three months or I will be back to where I was in April. What I am going to do is be more strict in enforcing my Instructions on sending messages. I am spending too much time retyping messages and splitting messages containing two or three species. Please follow the instructions - they are not very onerous but if they are followed it means I can spend my time answering questions rather than retyping and editing. Remember I don't have a team of  typists or assistants - in fact I don't have any.

And how can you ensure your message get posted? Unhappily you can't - but if it doesn't need editing and typing its got a chance. And if it is informative, shows something new, a new locality record, or colour form, or shows an animal 'doing something' it has an even better chance.

Best wishes
Bill

Rudman, W.B., 2007 (Jul 3) Sending messages to the Forum. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/20103

I am back

April 27, 2007
From: Bill Rudman

Concerning message #19843:

As some of you may have realised I am back from New Zealand. I have decided to leave the Forum closed to new messages for another week so I can answer some more of the backlog of messages. I often receive more than 10 messages a day and as I can't answer that many a day, the backlog grows.

Best wishes
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2007 (Apr 27) I am back. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/19850

I'm on holiday for 2 weeks

April 4, 2007
From: Bill Rudman

I am going to New Zealand for a couple of weeks so I won't be able to provide urgent answers during that period. I am able to prepare messages for automatic posting during the time I am away, so if you are expecting a message and receive our notification, just check the date it says your message will be posted - it may be a few days in the future. I'll open the Forum again for new messages in about 3 weeks
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman Rudman, W.B., 2007 (Apr 4) I'm on holiday for 2 weeks. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/19727

Dress design influenced by nudibranch!

January 22, 2007
From: Michelle Yerman

Dear Bill,

I would like to let you know that your 'Seaslug Forum' is having an impact across the globe in some exciting ways. Last year my partner, Rob Thyer, posted a message on your forum with an attached photograph regarding Nembrotha kubaryana (message #16869). Recently he received an e-mail from a designer in Turkey who has designed a dress influenced by the beauty of N. kubaryana. He was seeking permission to use the photo that he saw on the forum, in order to publish the design and nudibranch in Vogue magazine. (When he initially told me this I thought he was joking!)
Isn't it wonderful that a member of the most neglected yet most diverse group of animals on earth has has had such an impact!

Sincerely

Michelle

michelle.yerman@austmus.gov.au

Yerman, M.N., 2007 (Jan 22) Dress design influenced by nudibranch!. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/19262

Thanks Michelle,
Yes I have seen these designs and advised the team to ask permission from the photographers if they wished to publish the photos. I must ask them if they would like to preview the designs on the Forum - certainly a change from conference Tshirts

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2007 (Jan 22). Comment on Dress design influenced by nudibranch! by Michelle Yerman. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/19262

Seasons Greetings

December 22, 2006
From: Bill Rudman

Oh dear - another year is nearly finished - and all those jobs you meant to finish this year are still waiting - oh well there is always another year ahead.

For those of you who celebrate Christmas, may I wish you a merry Christmas, and for those of you who don't, the message of peace and goodwill is a universal wish. I just hope we do better at in the new year.

Thanks to everyone who has supported the Forum over the year, and thanks to the many of you who have sent me Christmas and New Years' greetings. I am taking a few days holiday so over the next few days I can't guarantee to be posting any messages.
All the best for 2007

Rudman, W.B., 2006 (Dec 22) Seasons Greetings. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/18403

Sending messages to the Forum

December 5, 2006
From: Bill Rudman

The Send Message form is now operating again. We hope we have solved the spam attack problem by adding a verification letter code which you have to enter for each message. From our testing it does not seem to be case sensitive. For example, if you are asked to enter XyZ  then it doesn't matter if you enter XYZ or xyz etc.

If you fail the verification code test your message is not lost. The back button will take you back to your message for a second try. The only minor problem is that in some internet browsers the image upload information in the message form is lost, so remember to reload that.

I am sorry we have had to do this, but the Forum database was getting up to 50 spam messages a day even through the REPLY method, and the number of messages was increasing daily. If I had opened the normal route for messages, I was expecting 100s or even 1000s a day which would have killed the Forum.

I have also added the verification procedure to the New Participants form. In the last month we received 500 false 'new participants'. Could anyone who has sent New Participant details in the last week or two please check that it has been posted. There is a slight possibility it may have been deleted with the spam.

Let's hope this solves the problem
Cheers
Bill

Rudman, W.B., 2006 (Dec 5) Sending messages to the Forum. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/18923

Assistance on the Forum

November 29, 2006
From: Bill Rudman

Some of you will remember the rather tortuous upgrading of the Forum which started about 2 years ago and finally finished earlier this year. One of the 'backroom' enhancements we added was a way for me to allow other colleagues to help me in answering some of the many messages which arrive daily.  You will have noticed that Dave Behrens, who needs no introduction, has been helping out with messages dealing with the Pacific coast of North America for some time - thank you Dave for acting as test pilot.

Today I am please to announce that Bernard Picton from the Ulster Museum, Belfast, and an expert on the European fauna, will be answering messages as well.

I would like to make it clear that you don't need to be an 'official helper' to answer or comment on any message posted on the Forum. Anyone is welcome - and encouraged - to click on the reply button and share their views.

Best wishes
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2006 (Nov 29) Assistance on the Forum. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/18688

Re: Sending Messages to Forum

November 20, 2006
From: Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2006 (Nov 20) Re: Sending Messages to Forum. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/18378

You may have noticed that I still have not opened the Forum 'send a message' form.. Unfortunately some antisocial leech who thinks spamming is a legitimate form of business has found a way to send automatic spam messages to the Forum even without the form being operational. We have a solution to the problem but it is taking a while to implement. I don't want to open the 'send a message' form until we have solved this problem or the Forum will be flooded with 100s of spam messages a day. In the mean time I am happy for you to send messages by using the 'reply to message' button on the upper right of this message.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2006 (Nov 20). Comment on Re: Sending Messages to Forum by Bill Rudman. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/18378

I am back

October 26, 2006
From: Bill Rudman

From today I will start posting some of the backlog of messages which built up while I was away. The conference in Bonn was wonderful - thanks again to Heike and her enthusiastic band of helpers, who made it possible. After the conference my wife and I spent a month or so travelling through some parts of Europe we had not seen before. To help me stay in 'holiday mode' for a little while, I won't open the Forum to new messages for a few days to give me a chance to deal with some of the backlog.

If you wish to respond to any message I post just use the reply button

Best wishes
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2006 (Oct 26) I am back. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/18128

I am on holiday

September 13, 2006
From: Bill Rudman

I am about to leave for Heike Wagele's slugfest in Bonn and a month's holiday in Europe so I have decided it's best if I stop accepting new messages until I return in late October. Replies and comments on already posted messages can still be posted by using the reply button. If I get a chance I will work on some of the messages in the backlog.

Best wishes
Bill

Rudman, W.B., 2006 (Sep 13) I am on holiday. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/17755

Nudibranch Systematic Index available Online

August 5, 2006
From: Gary McDonald

Dear Bill:
I just uploaded my Nudibranch Systematic Index to the web to accompany the nudibranch bibliography. It is available as a pdf file at: http://repositories.cdlib.org/ims/Nudibranch_Systematic_Index/.

It is an index of my approximately 6,200 nudibranch reprints and books. I have indexed them only for information concerning systematics, taxonomy, nomenclature, & description of taxa, so articles on chemistry, ecology, behavior, physiology, etc. are not indexed. It should allow you to quickly find information concerning the description, taxonomy, or systematics of almost any species of nudibranch. The last few reprints which I indexed may not be in the posted version of Bibliographia Nudibranchia, but will be in the next version of the bibliography when it is uploaded.

If anyone notices articles with taxonomic or descriptive data that are not included in the index, it most likely means that I do not have a copy of the article, and would be grateful to receive a copy of the article to be included in the next version of the index.

I hope this index will prove useful.

Cheers,
Gary

mcduck@ucsc.edu

McDonald, G., 2006 (Aug 5) Nudibranch Systematic Index available Online. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/17279

Dear Gary,
Thanks for this valuable tool. I have added it to the Links list.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2006 (Aug 5). Comment on Nudibranch Systematic Index available Online by Gary McDonald. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/17279

Nudibranch bibliography available online

July 15, 2006
From: Gary McDonald

Dear Bill:

I just uploaded my nudibranch bibliography to a new website: http://repositories.cdlib.org/ims/Bibliographia_Nudibranchia/.
It was previously available as a searchable file at: http://scilib.ucsd.edu/sio/indexes/mcdonald.html, but is no longer available at that site. The new site does not allow online searches, but does allow you to download the entire .pdf file. The new site has the advantage of being "permanent" and allowing me to update the file at any time, which I hope to do regularly (every few months) as new citations become available. I hope this proves to be a useful resource. Thanks again for maintaining the Sea Slug Forum, it is a great resource.

Cheers,
Gary

mcduck@ucsc.edu

McDonald, G. R., 2006 (Jul 15) Nudibranch bibliography available online. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/17142

Dear Gary,
Thanks for letting us know. I have chnaged the url on the Forum's links page. I am sure there are many like me who use your list as an essential reference. I try and keep my own bibliography up to date but I inevitably turn to yours to make sure I haven't missed something.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2006 (Jul 15). Comment on Nudibranch bibliography available online by Gary McDonald. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/17142

Peter Firminger - Goodbye and Thanks

May 31, 2006
From: Bill Rudman

I can't remember when the Australian Museum first dabbled in web site 'ownership' but it was all very haphazard. I can remember writing pages on 'science in the museum' and preparing them for the site by downloading other pages from the web and copying html code until I got the desired result. Fortunately, the museum administration soon decided that enthusiasm wasn't enough and a specific web team was needed. One of the most obvious gaps that needed filling was someone with the technical skills to develop and manage the operations of the site. Which brings us to Peter Firminger.

After Peter had sorted out the mess [what in Australia we would call a 'dog's breakfast'] he invited interested staff to discuss their dreams with him - not in a Freudian sense I hasten to add - so I asked him if it would be possible to develop a fairly simple question and answer site on sea slugs directed mainly at Australia and New Zealand. He went away and came back with a draft version for me to play with. Then we would sit down together and he would make changes in the code, I would make suggestions, and he would offer other possibilities and so on, until in late 1997 we went online. As they say, the rest is history.

Peter knew nothing about sea slugs, but like many others who have come in contact with the Forum he has probably learnt more than is necessary for a normal human being. However without his dedication to the cause, and his professional skills, the Forum would not have been possible, and certainly would not be the success it is today with  250,000 visits a month from over 140 countries.

If this is beginning to sound like an obituary, fortunately it is not, but today is Peter's last day working for the Australian Museum website and I could not let the occasion pass without publicly thanking him for all he has done for the Sea Slug Forum and for his friendship.

Bill Rudman.

Rudman, W.B., 2006 (May 31) Peter Firminger - Goodbye and Thanks. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/16756

Re: Sea slugs in Central America

March 28, 2006
From: Bill Rudman

Concerning message #16167:

Dear Bella
I forgot to mention that Dave Behrens told me a while ago that there is a new book in preparation on the Carribean fauna It is jointly authored by a number of experts and will contain over 250 species. It should be available in a few months and I sure Dave Behrens will keep us informed. I understand colour variation in each species will be illustrated by multiple photos.
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2006 (Mar 28) Re: Sea slugs in Central America. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/16177

Sea slugs in Central America

March 27, 2006
From: Bella Palomo

Hey fellow scientists ;)
Im going to begin a research on sea slugs in Central America and I need lots of help... perhaps you could help me with a list of books that could help me that have information on how to collect them, preserve them, photography etc. Also I could use some help with a list of species that have been reported in Central America. Thank you so much in advance. ;)

Bella.
Guatemala

gabriella_palomo@yahoo.com

Palomo, M. G., 2006 (Mar 27) Sea slugs in Central America. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/16167

Dear Bella,
Have a look at my message #15857, which will give you information on two excellent books on the Pacific coast of central America. If you interested in the Caribbean coast, there is no comparable book but have a look at the Book Review list [see navigation index at top left of this page] where you will see some Caribbean faunal guides discussed.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2006 (Mar 27). Comment on Sea slugs in Central America by Bella Palomo. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/16167

Re: Welcome to the New Year !

January 21, 2006
From: Lindsay Warren

Concerning message #15514:

Dear Bill
The changes you have made to the SSF are great! It is excellent to once again have the option of viewing all related messages for a particular species. Many thanks for bringing this feature back again while still retaining the ability to access messages individually.

I hope that inspite of all your efforts over the 'break' that you did actually manage to have some time off as well!

All the best for 2006
Lindsay

lwarren@datonomy.co.uk

Warren, L.C.R., 2006 (Jan 21) Re: Welcome to the New Year ! . [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/15613

Dear Lindsay,
Glad you like things. Most of the hardwork was done by our webguru Peter Firminger - I just harassed him. There are some other changes which should become apparent in the next week or so. There have also been major changes 'behind the scenes' to try and make editing more efficient, and to give feedback to contributors etc.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2006 (Jan 21). Comment on Re: Welcome to the New Year ! by Lindsay Warren. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/15613

Re: Welcome to the New Year !

January 12, 2006
From: Roberto Sozzani

Concerning message #15514:

Dear Bill,
I found the new option to display all the relevant messages attached to a Fact Sheet very useful, it really helps.

Again, welcome back and thanks for your great job!
Roberto Sozzani

roberto.sozzani@fastwebnet.it

Sozzani, R., 2006 (Jan 12) Re: Welcome to the New Year ! . [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/15537

Dear Roberto,
I'm also glad that display option is back. You will also notice that we have automated replies so that they are prefaced by a link to the original message. For example: 'Concerning message #15514:'

So if Forum users wish to respond to a particular message, the best way is to click the REPLY button on the top right of each message.

Best wishes
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2006 (Jan 12). Comment on Re: Welcome to the New Year ! by Roberto Sozzani. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/15537

Welcome to the New Year !

January 10, 2006
From: Bill Rudman

Just a brief note to let you know I am back in business. Please be kind and don't flood me with too many new messages all at once.

You won't notice too many new changes to the public face of the Forum but hopefully the changes Peter Firminger has made 'behind the scenes' will make editing and managing the site much easier for me. There are two additions which should be useful to you.

One addition is the ability to display all the relevant messages attached to a Fact Sheet. This used to be the standard display but we removed it a couple of years ago because it was slow loading for dial-up connections. If you want to display all 'Relevant Messages' on particular page, just click on the command at the bottom of the page.

Secondly, we have included a way of searching for species and higher taxonomic categories. There is still a bit of work to do on it but have a look and see if you think it is of value. It does not replace the existing Forum search and is in fact limited to the Taxonomic Fact Sheets. To find it, just click on the Forum Search button and ignore the error message at the top of page. Once we have it finished we will make it more accessible.

Best wishes
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2006 (Jan 10) Welcome to the New Year ! . [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/15514

No new messages for 3 weeks

December 19, 2005
From: Bill Rudman

As I mentioned a couple of days ago [message #15495] there will be no new messages received or posted for the next 3 weeks while the Forum is being updated.
Seasons Greetings
Bill Rudman

billr@seaslugforum.net

Rudman, W.B., 2005 (Dec 19) No new messages for 3 weeks. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/15500

Good News and Bad News

December 18, 2005
From: Bill Rudman

The good news is that we are doing our best to complete the upgrading of the Sea Slug Forum, a process which we began many months ago, but has lingered on unfinished through lack of resources. The changes will include added refinements to the Search facility and alternative ways of displaying messages. It will also bring the Links pages back to life and hopefully we will be able to introduce new and more efficient ways for me to edit incoming material.

The bad news is that we are going to have to freeze the Forum for 3 weeks from Monday 19 December, and no new messages will be accepted or posted during that period. The Forum will still be accessible for reference.

To those of you who have been waiting patiently for messages to be posted, I am afraid the backlog is quite large and every day I receive more messages than I can post. .

For those of you who celebrate Christmas, may I wish you a Merry Christmas, and for those of you who don't, the message of peace and goodwill is a universal wish. I just hope we do better at in the New Year.

Thanks to everyone who has supported the Forum over the year, and thanks to the many of you who have sent me Christmas and New Years' greetings. .
All the best for 2006
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2005 (Dec 18) Good News and Bad News. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/15495

Sze Yong - New Participant

November 1, 2005
From: Bill Rudman

Dear Sze Yong,
Thanks for your details for the Participants List. Can you add some locality information? It doesn't have to be detailed - a city and country perhaps? your university? I would have contacted you personally but you didn't give an email address either
Best wishes
Bill

Rudman, W.B., 2005 (Nov 1) Sze Yong - New Participant. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/15156

Station Marine d'Endoume (Marseille, France) - FOR SALE

June 9, 2005
From: Bill Rudman

I have just been alerted by French colleagues to a university plan to sell off 75% of the buildings and facilities of the famous Station Marine d'Endoume (Marseille, France). This will reduce the Station to a disfunctional token. This station has provided facilities for marine research in the Mediterranean for over 100 years, and the need for such research centres is just as great today as it has ever been.

I would urge you to take the time to read the information on the MARBEF website and if you feel strongly, to sign the petition protesting this decision. There are both English and French versions.

http://www.marbef.org/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=51&mode=&order=0&thold=0

Best wishes
Bill Rudman

billr@seaslugforum.net

Rudman, W.B., 2005 (Jun 9) Station Marine d'Endoume (Marseille, France) - FOR SALE. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/14002

Re: Missing Persons

May 13, 2005
From: Kathe R. Jensen

Dear David and Bill,

Christoffer Schander is presently professor at the University of Bergen, Norway. He is mostly doing molecular stuff - with a focus on molluscs, I think. His e-mail is:
christoffer.schander@bio.uib.no

Best wishes,
Kathe

PS: Please note that my e-mail has been changed (due to institutional reorganization)

krjensen@snm.ku.dk

Jensen, K.R., 2005 (May 13) Re: Missing Persons. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/13769

Thanks Kathe,
For those of you who have let me know that some of the information in  the Participants List is out of date please accept my apologies. I am afraid that some sections of the Forum have been effectively frozen since the Forum revamp some months ago. Despite my continued pleas I am still unable to edit the Participants List. I am told patience is a virtue.......

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2005 (May 13). Comment on Re: Missing Persons by Kathe R. Jensen. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/13769

Missing Persons

May 12, 2005
From: David Feld

Dear Bill,
I'm very pleased to see the site up and running again. Welcome back and keep up the fantastic work! You may know that for some (considerable) time, I have been writing A Field Guide to the Marine Gastropods of Britain and northwest Europe. It's nearly finished, with a total of nearly 1,000 species described, including, of course, opisthobranchs. Now all I need is a publisher!

Over the last couple of years, I have contacted correspondents to your site for assistance and ideas - and have been fairly successful. However, I have been unable to contact three people, and wonder if you and/or others can help.

Does anybody know the whereabouts - or better, the up-to-date e-mail addresses - of Alexander Martynov (Cuthonidae), Dmitry Redkin (Coryphellidae), and Dr Schander (a pyramidellid expert, I know, but it's close and worth a try). I should be very grateful to hear from anybody who knows where they are.
Best wishes,
David Feld

drf@dfeld.freeserve.co.uk

Feld, D.R., 2005 (May 12) Missing Persons. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/13758

Dear David,
The last address I have for Alexander Martynov is  martyn@AM3963.spb.edu

I am sure someone will help with the others
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2005 (May 12). Comment on Missing Persons by David Feld. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/13758

I am on holiday

March 26, 2005
From: Bill Rudman

I am taking a few days holiday so there will be no new messages posted on the Forum until early in April

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman


I am on holiday

January 6, 2005
From: Bill Rudman

Sorry to stop the Forum again after just starting it, but I am taking a couple of weeks holiday in New Zealand. I will be posting new messages again in the last week of January.
Best wishes
Bill


There is a Santa

December 28, 2004
From: Sean Kearney

Dear Bill
I have kept my bookmark for your site on my desktop. I have been checking it off and on for some time now. What a great Xmas present! You are back. Happy Holidays to you and all of the participants and readers of the
Forum. I am so happy that you are up and running.
Thanks for all that you do.
Sean Kearney

skearney@dc.rr.com

Kearney, S., 2004 (Dec 28) There is a Santa. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/12841

Dear Sean,
Thanks for the message of support. Thanks to all the others of you who have sent in similar messages - I won't post them all - but I am glad we all want the Forum running
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman


Re: New look and new start to the Forum [2]

December 24, 2004
From: Kathe R. Jensen

Dear Bill,
What a wonderful Christmas gift! I have been checking the Forum regularly, so I wasn't really expecting to see any new messages. But now it is going to take me some time to get through all the Okenia (and other) messages.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone,
Kathe

krjensen@zmuc.ku.dk

Jensen, K.R., 2004 (Dec 24) Re: New look and new start to the Forum [2]. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/12826

Season's Greetings

December 24, 2004
From: Bill Rudman

Just a short note to wish you all a Merry Xmas and a happy New Year. As many of you have said, having the Forum operating again is a good cause for celebration as well.

I am taking a few days holiday so if there are no messages posted for a few days it is not because the Forum is broken, but because I am visiting family and maybe slightly over-indulging
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2004 (Dec 24) Season's Greetings. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/12830

Alder & Hancock monograph for sale

January 28, 2004
From: Dr John Miller

Note: sale closes Feb 2 so think very quickly!

Members may be interested to know that I am offering Parts 2-5 of the Ray Society Monograph on British Nudibranchiate Molluscs 1845-1851 [Alder & Hancock] for auction on eBay, item no. 3583412718. In quite good condition, original soft covers, watercolours still pristine.

The parts were sent by Alder & Hancock to G. W. Peach, a notable Edinburgh geologist of the period and one part is inscribed to him. Peach made a few discrete pencil comments. Sadly, part 1 is missing.

Dr John Miller

john.miller@dsl.pipex.com

Miller, J., 2004 (Jan 28) Alder & Hancock monograph for sale. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/12025

Seasons Greetings

December 24, 2003
From: Bill Rudman

It is that time again when all the jobs you meant to finish before the end of the year suddenly seem insurmountable - oh well there is always another year ahead.

For those of you who celebrate Christmas, may I wish you a merry Christmas, and for those of you who don't, the message of peace and goodwill is a universal wish. I just hope we do better at in the new year.

Thanks to everyone who has supported the Forum over the year, and thanks to the many of you who have sent me Christmas and New Years' greetings. I am taking a few days holiday so over the next few days I can't guarantee to be posting any messages.
All the best for 2004
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2003 (Dec 24) Seasons Greetings. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/11757

thanks................

November 27, 2003
From: k

I was just wanted to say that this is a real nice forum. Wow, whoever who does this is really kind and helpful. U sure have helped many people.
anywayz..all the best
k

kenox17@yahoo.com

k, 2003 (Nov 27) thanks................. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/11465

I don't usually post anonymous contributions .. but thanks are always welcome
Bill Rudman


Unknown from Hawaii

November 12, 2003
From: Glenn T. Poulain

Here is another interesting creature I have not been able to ID. This photo was shot at Hale'iwa Ali'i Beach, North Shore, Hawaii - July 5th, 2003, - The depth was ~15', 200 yards off the shore line on a shallow reef.

I have looked in several resource books as well as pass the image on to several dive colleagues without success. Once again, your help would be greatly appreciated.
Aloha
Dr Glenn T. Poulain

DRPOULAIN@MSN.COM

Poulain, G.T., 2003 (Nov 12) Unknown from Hawaii. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/10547

Dear Glenn,
I am pretty sure this is the arm of a starfish. It is upside down so you can see the groove which contains the retracted tube feet. Some species reproduce by breaking off arms, each of which grows the approporate number of new arms to make a whole starfish again.
Best wishes
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2003 (Nov 12). Comment on Unknown from Hawaii by Glenn T. Poulain. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/10547

No new messages for 2 weeks

October 25, 2003
From: Bill Rudman

I am going to New Zealand for two weeks - mainly on holiday - so I'm afraid there will be no new messages posted until I return. I hope the 25 messages I posted in the last 2 days will keep you going
Best wishes
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2003 (Oct 25) No new messages for 2 weeks. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/11319

Info on molluscs

October 11, 2003
From: Brandon Aberle

Dear sir,
I have recently come across your page, and it has amazed me. I have never seen such beautiful creatures. To be quite honest, your's is one of the best discussion sites out there. I am e-mailing you in request of some information. I am doing a study on sea slugs and other mollusks and was wondering if you could offer any advice on information web pages on this subject. I've been to the encyclopaedias and everything, but there is only so much they can do for a man.
Yours Respectfully,
Brandon Aberle

Gunnabthe1@hotmail.com

Aberle, B., 2003 (Oct 11) Info on molluscs. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/11203

Dear Brandon,
I am not sure if you realised that there is more to the Forum than the message list. Have a look at the General Topics List for more background material. Without a better idea about what you are after it's a bit hard to recommend a general mollusc site, but there are certainly sites on the web that cover quite a bit of background material. When you search you just have to be aware that there are many sites for 'shell collectors' which won't tell you much about the animals. The other thing you should do is find some good books. Encyclopaedias can never be more than an introduction. See if your school librbary or local public library has reference books on molluscs, or invertebrates. Good general biology books often have chapters on different animal groups as well.
Good luck with your porject
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2003 (Oct 11). Comment on Info on molluscs by Brandon Aberle. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/11203

Slow response to messages

September 12, 2003
From: Bill Rudman

Some of you will have noticed that your messages are taking a long time to be posted. Be assured - they have not been lost or rejected. I am afraid I am just having difficulty in keeping up with the volume of messages.

Until June I was lucky to have a part-time assistant who helped with some of the image prpearation and some basic html coding. Unfortunately that source of funds no longer exists so I have no assistance at present. At the same time my home computer as decided its a good time to blow up.

This means that that the message back-log has blown out to over 600! As a general rule I try to deal with messages in order of arrival, but I give priority to new topics/species, topics I think are of particular interest, or are currently being discussed on the Forum etc. I also have to put some messages to one side if they involve a lot of preparation and background work. Sorry for the delay

Hopefully things will improve,
Best wishes
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2003 (Sep 12) Slow response to messages. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/10960

Just to congratulate you!

September 6, 2003
From: Fabio

Congratulations! this site is a great resource of information, great design, and if each animal with difficult maintenance could have a site like this, a lot of unnecessary deaths certainly would be avoided!

sorry about my English!

regards from Brazil!
Fabio

fabiopx@yahoo.com.br

Fabio, 2003 (Sep 6) Just to congratulate you!. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/10829

Thanks Fabio,.
Any information on Brazilian sea slugs is very welcome
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman


Many thanks

September 3, 2003
From: Abigail T.

Dear Sir:
I would just like to say thank you. This website helped me a great deal with a tough project assigned by my biology teacher.

Thanks again,
Abigail

britelights3000@aol.com

Abigail T., 2003 (Sep 3) Many thanks. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/10886

Dear Abigail,
Glad we could help
Bill Rudman


Cesar Gavaia

July 9, 2003
From: Lucas Cervera

Dear Bill,
I noted that about 2 weeks ago you posted a message from Cesar Gavaia from Portugal. He has also sent other messages over the last few years. Well, my message is to tell you that just when you posted his last message he had suffered an accident 2-3 days earlier together other persons from the University of Algarve. He was almost 2 weeks at the Hospital linked to a machine and finally died last Friday.

Cesar Gavaia was one of the young Portuguese generation of branchers, together with Gonçalo Calado and Manuel Malaquias, who developed their interest in the 90's. He participated with me and many other colleagues from Spain, Portugal and California Academy of Sciences in a 2 week field trip in Southern Portugal in July 2002. At present he has some opisthobranch contributions in press or waiting acceptane.

Sadly you will not receive any more messages for the Forum from Cesar.

Regards.
Lucas.

Departamento de Biologia
Facultad de Ciencias del Mar y Ambientales
Universidad de Cádiz

lucas.cervera@uca.es

Cervera, L., 2003 (Jul 9) Cesar Gavaia. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/10426

Dear Lucas,
I am sorry to hear such sad news. An old friend of mine died recently and I can take comfort in knowing that he lived a rich and fulfilling life. It is much sadder when a young person, such as Cesar, dies prematurely and so does not get the chance to fulfil their potential.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2003 (Jul 9). Comment on Cesar Gavaia by Lucas Cervera . [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/10426

Underwater sign for nudibranch

June 26, 2003
From: Angel Valdes

Dear Forum Participants:
I think you may find this useful in your collecting trips: http://www.seasigns.com/june-o.htm
Even though it is a little bias towards dorids.
Ángel Valdés

avaldes@nhm.org

Valdes, A., 2003 (Jun 26) Underwater sign for nudibranch. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/10320

Thanks Ángel,
I guess a modification for pleurobranch wouldn't be too difficult but finding enough fingers for an aeolid might be a challenge
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2003 (Jun 26). Comment on Underwater sign for nudibranch by Angel Valdes. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/10320

Anis - re your photos from Tunisia

April 17, 2003
From: Bill Rudman

Dear Anis,
Thanks for your messages and photos from Tunisia. I need to contact you before I can post the messages but unfortunately there is something wrong with the email address you have sent me. Can you please send an email to me at billr@seaslugforum.net so I can make contact
Thanks
Bill Rudman


Sulawesi Sea Slugs

March 19, 2003
From: Jim Anderson

Dear Dr. Rudman,
I have recently moved my Sulawesi site to another server and wondered if I can 'advertise' this information via the Forum. The new address is
http://www.bunaken.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/sulawesi.htm
My email address has also changed
Regards,
Jim Anderson

jander4454@blueyonder.co.uk

Anderson, J., 2003 (Mar 19) Sulawesi Sea Slugs. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/9341

Seaslugs from Barents Sea

February 11, 2003
From: Dmitry Redkin

Dear colleagues!
I am a zoology of invertebrates student fron St- Petersburg, Russia. I am trying to compile a species list of seaslugs from the Dalnje-Zelenetskaja Inlet (Barents Sea) and analyse it. Now I am faced with a problem - I don't know the zoogeographical state (boreo-arctic, boreal, arctic ?) of several species. I would greatly appreciate receiving any information about the following species if it doesn't give you any trouble.

Aldisa zetlandica (Alder et Hancock, 1854)
Colga villosa (Odhner, 1907) (=C. lacera (Rathe et al., 1806) non Doris lacera Cuvier, 184
Archidoris pseudoargus (Rapp,1827)
"Archidoris" nobilis Loven in Odhner, 1907
Calycidoris guenteri Abraham, 1876
Okenia quadricornis (Montagu, 1815)
Dermatobranchus walteri (Krause, 1892)
Lomanotus marmoratus (Alder et Hancock, 1845)
Doto coronata (Gmelin, 1791)
Chlamilla borealis Bergh, 1886
Coryphella borealis Odhner, 1932
Coryphella polaris Volodchenko, 1946 (= Gonieolis typica sensu Bergh, 1886 non Sars, 1861)
Amphiorina odhneri (Derjugin et Gurjanova, 1926)
Amphorina pallida (Alder et Hancock, 1842)Cuthonella abyssicola Bergh, 1884
Trinchesia pustulata (Alder et Hancock, 1854)
Catriona gymnota (Couthouy, 1838)
Tergipes tergipes (Forskal, 1775)
Sincerly yours,
Dmitry Redkin

d_redkin@fromru.com

Dear Dmitry,
There is a fine line between helping someone's research and actually doing the research. Perhaps someone can direct you to an appropriate reference work for this information. Otherwise I suspect its a case of doing some literature research - often boring, time-consuming & frustrating - but I'm afraid we all have to do it.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2003 (Feb 11). Comment on Seaslugs from Barents Sea by Dmitry Redkin. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/9032

Re: Librarius carolae - recent Sydney sighting

December 21, 2002
From: Jun Imamoto

Dear Bill and Carol,
Many materials from your library were provided for us through The Sea Slug Forum.
I also appreciate the work of Carol Cantrell. Thank you very much Carol.
Best Regards from JAPAN,
Jun Imamoto

imamoto@wips.co.jp

Imamoto, J., 2002 (Dec 21) Re: Librarius carolae - recent Sydney sighting. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/8731

Librarius carolae - recent Sydney sighting

December 20, 2002
From: Bill Rudman

At the Australian Museum Christmas Party on Wednesday night we farewelled one of our valued librarians, Carol Cantrell, who, like all intelligent and perceptive people, rates nudibranchs as the most important and beautiful animals on the planet. For the 22 years she has been at the museum she has helped me search for those obscure publications we so often desperately need but can't find.

To mark the occasion, Carol [mantle fully exposed in upper right photo], with the help of her library colleagues, performed an 'Ode to the Sea Slug Forum'. Unfortunately photos do not illustrate the hilarity of the occasion. Thank you Carol, I will keep you to your promise to return as a volunteer.

May I also take this opportunity to wish the many visitors and contributors to the Forum during 2002, season's greetings and all the best for 2003.

Bill Rudman

PHOTOS: Paul Ovenden

Rudman, W.B., 2002 (Dec 20) Librarius carolae - recent Sydney sighting. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/8725

Change of address

November 7, 2002
From: Kathe R. Jensen

Hi Bill,
Just a short note to let everyone know that tomorrow night (7-8 November) I will be flying back to Denmark. I am very busy packing everything, and it may be a while before I am reunited with my reprint collection.

My address in Denmark will be:
Kathe R. Jensen
Zoological Museum
Universitetsparken 15
DK-2100 Copenhagen O
Denmark

and the e-mail: krjensen@zmuc.ku.dk

Best wishes,
Kathe

jensen@ait.ac.th

Jensen, K.R., 2002 (Nov 7) Change of address . [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/8376

Thanks Kathe,
Returning to a Danish winter will be shock to your metabolism! I hope you and your reprints are soon re-united
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman


Problems with the Forum

October 21, 2002
From: Bill Rudman

Over the last few days we have had a number of techical problems with the Forum, some you will have noticed, some which just caused a lot of sleepless nights 'behind the scenes'. Hopefully they are all over, but if you notice something wrong, no matter how minor, I would be grateful for a message
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

billr@seaslugforum.net


Me

June 17, 2002
From: Doris

My name is Doris and I am 9 years old. I searched on Google for 'Doris is 9' and found a sea slug on your website. I have printed it to take to school tomorrow - it is prettier than the slugs in my garden who come in our house and eat the cat food.

Why is this slug called Doris, is it because Doris is the goddess of sea-nymphs?
Doris

doris@lowmanandlowman.com

Doris, 2002 (Jun 17) Me. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/7279

Dear Doris,
Many animals are named after mythological Gods and Goddesses. Often the names were from Ancient Greek and Ancient Roman civilisations. Doris was definitely named after the goddess of sea-nymphs. Fortunately for you, sea slugs are definitely more beautiful than land slugs. The name 'doris' has been used a number of times from sea slugs. Another group called Chromodoris which means the 'colorful doris' includes some of the most brightly coloured. Have a look at Chromodoris magnifica and Chromodoris splendida for a couple of examples.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2002 (Jun 17). Comment on Me by Doris. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/7279

I'm away for a week

February 25, 2002
From: Bill Rudman

I am off collecting for a week in southern New South Wales so I am afraid there will be no new postings for a few days.
Best wishes
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2002 (Feb 25) I'm away for a week. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/6334

Re: Nudibranch 'memorials'

February 1, 2002
From: Brian Penney

Re: Nudibranch 'memorials':
There is also a "Nudibranch Point" in Barkley Sound, B.C., Canada. It is part of the local First Nation's reserve land, so i haven't been through the intertidal. However, subtidally there are some good slugging areas nearby.

Best Regards,
Brian

bpenney@ualberta.ca

Penney, B., 2002 (Feb 1) Re: Nudibranch 'memorials'. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/6132

Thanks Brian,
Perhaps I'll have to start a separate page for 'memorials'
Cheers,
Bill


Re: Nudibranch 'memorials'

January 25, 2002
From: Jeanette McInnes

Dear Dr Rudman,
In reply to your question, "Does anyone know of other places where nudibranchs are immortalised?" besides Nudibranch Park, Bundaberg...

The Pier Marketplace in Cairns [Queensland, Australia] has a large main area 2 storeys high supported by rather massive white columns. Attached near the top of 3 columns are shiny 1m long Chromodoris-like nudibranch models clinging diagonally to their perches. One model looks a lot like a Ch. elisabethina, frequently seen in the Cairns area of the Great Barrier Reef, the others are just coloured fancifully. Due to their lofty position & lack of signposting, I imagine that very few people notice them or even know what they represent.
Regards,
Jeanette.

jlmc01@ozemail.com.au

McInnes, J., 2002 (Jan 25) Re: Nudibranch 'memorials'. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/6055

Dear Jeanette,
Nothing escapes the tentacles of the Sea Slug Forum! Here is a photo of the very shopping centre taken by Ian Loch [Mollusc Collection Manager - Australian Museum] . I remembered him showing me some photos a few years ago and luckily he found them with no difficulty. As you say, C. elisabethina is recognisable, but the others are imaginary - or new species!
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman


Sad news from Japan

January 16, 2002
From: Cynthia Trowbridge

Dear all,
I regret to pass on some very sad news. My Japanese colleagues just wrote to say that Professor Baba passed away on Nov. 30th and Dr. Habe passed away in December. This indeed is very sad news for the opisthobranch community.
Cynthia

trowbric@ucs.orst.edu

Trowbridge, C. , 2002 (Jan 16) Sad news from Japan. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/5999

The passing of these two great Japanese malacologists indeed marks the end of an era. Both were well-known and respected throughout the world. Dr Habe had a broad interest in malacology, while Dr Baba was best known for his prolific studies on the opisthobranchs. Both began their publishing careers before most of us were born, Dr Baba in 1931 and Dr Habe in 1939, and both were publishing until very recently. Their deaths are indeed a sad loss to malacology.
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2002 (Jan 16). Comment on Sad news from Japan by Cynthia Trowbridge . [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/5999

PhD research

September 30, 2001
From: Virginie Fruh

I am planning a PhD topic on opisthobranchs and having very few resources (living in Switzerland and hoping to complete PhD in New Zealand), I was wondering if anyone is aware of PhD topics already conducted on opistobranchs, or any thesis for masters for example. I am going to subscribe to various scientific journals, but complete theses often have more concentrated information, extremely valuable information as a matter of fact.
Here is my contact address:
Ch. des Bruyères 14, 1007 Lausanne, Switzerland.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH INDEED!
Virginie Fruh

v_fruh@hotmail.com

Fruh, V., 2001 (Sep 30) PhD research. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/5313

Dearv Virginie,
I wish you all the best in your endeavours. Although theses often have a lot of background details not included in published papers there ia a major problem in accessing theses. They are very difficult to have photocopied and are seldom sent on library interloan. There are various theses abstracting services which your local university library should be able to help you with. The other major point is that choosing a research topic cannot be done in isolation from the facilities that are going to be available to you. Unless you can discuss things with your proposed supervisor and know what facilities will be available to you (lab equipment, library journal holdings, etc etc) then choosing a thesis topic which you can complete would be very difficult.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2001 (Sep 30). Comment on PhD research by Virginie Fruh. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/5313

New position

July 21, 2001
From: Ángel Valdés

Dear Bill,
I would like to let the Forum readers know that I have accepted the offer of the position of curator of mollusks at the Museum of Natural History of Los Angeles County. I moved to Los Angeles a few weeks ago but my position only became official last week. The Museum of Natural History of Los Angeles holds one of the largest collections of mollusks in the US, for the most part due to the impressive work of the retiring curator James McLean. Jim will continue working at the museum as an emeritus curator. The opisthobranch collection is small but contains a number of types and historically important specimens from the Panamic region and California. Several opisthobranch workers have been associated to the museum in one way or another, and they left material in the collections. My challenge will be to increase the opisthobranch collection and at the same time keep the shell collection well-curated and growing.
Best regards,
Angel
--
Ángel Valdés
Assistant Curator of Mollusks
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County

avaldes@nhm.org

Valdés, Á, 2001 (Jul 21) New position. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/4885

Dear Angel,
Congratulations on the appointment. Jim McLean's shoes will be a big pair to fill, but I am sure that like most retiring malacologists, his 'retirement' will be retirement from the day to day bureaucracy rather than from the study of the gastropods he has spent so long accumulating and researching.
Good Luck in your new position,
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.

Rudman, W.B., 2001 (Jul 21). Comment on New position by Ángel Valdés. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/4885

Thanks

July 1, 2001
From: Sallie Jacobs

hi! i love this website i think it has all of the information i need and i would like to say that this place is the totally coolest place to find things out about some of the sea creatures in the world. i have discovered many things in the time i have been to this website
thanx again
sallie jacobs

chixri@yahoo.com

Jacobs, S., 2001 (Jul 1) Thanks. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/4586

Success in school science expo

June 25, 2001
From: Kirsty Miller

Dear Bill,
Thanks for all your help in identifying the nudibranchs I sent in as part of my school project from Durban, South Africa. I got a second at the school expo and my project will go forwarded to the interschool science expo. I have attached a photo.

I will continue to look for new and interesting nudibranch on all my dives.

Regards
Kirsty Miller

divegirl@xsinet.co.za

Miller, K., 2001 (Jun 25) Success in school science expo. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/4661

Dear Kirsty,
Congratulations on your success and good luck with the interschool expo. I'll look forward to hearing how you go there. And of course please keep us informed of any future nudibranch finds.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman


Scottish Nudibranchs Update

May 28, 2001
From: Jim Anderson

Hi,
Just to let you know that Scottish Nudibranchs at http://www.a4454.freeserve.co.uk/scotnud1.html
has been updated.
Regards,
Jim A

jander4454@aol.com

Anderson, J., 2001 (May 28) Scottish Nudibranchs Update. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/4190

Thanks Jim,
It's looking good
Bill Rudman


Scottish Nudibranchs

January 25, 2001
From: Jim Anderson

Hello Dr. Rudman,
The Scottish Nudibranch web site at http://www.a4454.freeserve.co.uk/scotnud1.html has been updated this month with some additional images. The winter is very cold here, but the diving keeps us going.

Best regards,
Jim A

jander4454@aol.com

Anderson, J., 2001 (Jan 25) Scottish Nudibranchs. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/3585

Thanks Jim,
Bill Rudman


sea slugs are pretty cool

January 1, 2001
From: Anonymous

i think that sea slugs are pretty cool.i am doing a project on them in science. thats all i really have to say bye bye.

Anonymous, 2001 (Jan 1) sea slugs are pretty cool. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/3460

I couldn't agree more
Bill


Trouble

December 30, 2000
From: Adam Matuzelis

Hello
A message from a gentleman in Australia. I was browsing through a Great Barrier Reef Book today, looking for an exotic name to call my new Lady friend. The sea butterfly, scientific name "Cavolinia" was a name I quite liked. I started calling her 'my cavolinia'. The first search (thinking she may do) came up with the `Sea Slug Forum'. I just wanted to share this romantic moment with you guys, as it may have been my last moment with her.
Thanks.
Adam

mutcheeze@hotmail.com

Matuzelis, A., 2000 (Dec 30) Trouble. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/3237

Dear Adam,
I have been away so some time has passed since your lady friend discovered that you were calling her a slug. By now you will be able to let us know whether she has a sense of humour or not. If not a new year is about to start - new dreams, new friends... but tread carefully with new names.
Best wishes
Bill Rudman


Seasons Greetings

December 24, 2000
From: Bill Rudman

As a Christmas treat I have posted quite a selection of messages today. I would just like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. For those of you from cultures that don't celebrate Christmas, the message of goodwill is common to us all. You are also spared a great deal of consumer madness - too many presents, too much eating, etc etc.

Thanks to all of you who have sent your best wishes, and thanks to all of you who have made contributions to the Sea Slug Forum over the last year.

For those of you in the Southern Hemisphere -have a nice summer holiday, and for those freezing in the Northern Hemisphere, it was 40 degrees Celsius in Sydney yesterday so please send a bit of the cold south!
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.


Opisthobranch Symposium at WSM

December 14, 2000
From: Cynthia Trowbridge

Western Society of Malacologists

PRELIMINARY NOTICE: WSM MEETING
27-30 June 2001
Sunny San Diego, California

This is a very preliminary notice of some of the events scheduled for next year's annual WSM meeting [2001] which will be held in San Diego.

1. Opisthobranch Symposium, a Festschrift in honor of the 50th Anniversary of the death of Frank Mace MacFarland. For more information, contact Dr. Angel Valdés (at the California Academy of Sciences: avaldes@casmail.calacademy.org

2. Paleontology Symposium (even though there are a number of geology meetings within several months of our meeting); contact Dr. Hans Bertsch (hbertsch@nu.edu) or Dr. George Kennedy.

3. Latin American Malacology Symposium. Organized by Dr. Jorge Caceres, CICESE, Enseñada, Baja California, Mexico. Information and comments should be sent to him: jcaceres@cicese.mx.

4. Special geology field trip to the Enseñada, Baja California region, led by Miguel Tellez; on the day after the closure of the meetings, 1 July (with a special dinner at Haliotis, one of Enseñda's finest—but reasonably priced--restaurants).

More details will be given later, but start planning to attend now, and to give a paper!!
Many thanks,

Dr. Hans Bertsch, WSM President
Cynthia Trowbridge, WSM Treasurer

trowbric@ucs.orst.edu

Trowbridge, C., 2000 (Dec 14) Opisthobranch Symposium at WSM. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/3363

Aglajidae - species since 1994?

October 27, 2000
From: Juan Lucas Cervera.

Hi Bill,

This message is for those colleagues that are expert in the study of Aglajidae. Could one of them, if it is possible, tell me how many species of this family have been described from 1994 to date?

Thanks.
Lucas.

lucas.cervera@uca.es

Cervera, J.L., 2000 (Oct 27) Aglajidae - species since 1994?. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/3238

Outstanding site!

October 4, 2000
From: Peter Havens

What a refreshing site you've developed. Real questions with real answers.
Keep it up!
P

havenspw@efanw.navfac.navy.mil

Havens, P., 2000 (Oct 4) Outstanding site!. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/3080

Dear Peter,
Thanks for your comments. I can assure you don't have time to make questions up!
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.


Scottish Nudibranchs

August 25, 2000
From: Jim Anderson

Dear Dr. Rudman,
I have updated the Scottish Nudibranchs website today, adding several new images following my early summer diving and photography activities.

To visit the site please go to http://www.a4454.freeserve.co.uk/scotnud1.html

Thanks and kind regards
Jim Anderson

jander4454@aol.com

Anderson, J., 2000 (Aug 25) Scottish Nudibranchs. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/2912

Dear Jim,
Thanks for keeping us up to date with your interesting site. It's nice to know that somewhere in the world there is always summer. Though I will never forget camping in Scotland in midsummer (and freezing) so I guess it's all relative.
Bill Rudman.


Diet and trophic specialization in nudibranch molluscs

July 26, 2000
From: Juan Lucas Cervera

Dear Bill,

On 18th July, Cesar Megina defended his PhD Thesis, the subject of which was "Diet and trophic specialization in nudibranch molluscs". Jose Carlos Garcia Gomez and I were the advisors. The commission that assessed his work was:
• Joandomenec Ros
• Terry Gosliner
• Manuel Ballesteros
• Jose Templado
• Carlos Garcia

Moreover, Chris Todd was also there when the defence was held.

At the end of the defence, Cesar got the higher possible result for this exam.

Lucas.

lucas.cervera@uca.es

Cervera, J.L., 2000 (Jul 26) Diet and trophic specialization in nudibranch molluscs. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/2769

Congratulations Cesar,
I look forward to hearing about your results,
Bill Rudman.


Help identifying other critters

July 10, 2000
From: Mary Jane Adams

Dear Bill,

Your website is the best! There is nothing like it on Net. Do you know of any biologists who are interested in identifying other marine invertebrates such as flat worms, crustaceans, molluscs, cephalopods, etc.? All of my diving is in the tropical Indo-Pacific. I am happy to swap photos for information about any animals in my collection. If you would like to have slides of any of the images I send you, just let me know and I would be happy to mail them to you.

I will be leaving June 22 for a research trip to the Phoenix Islands. A group of marine biologists from the New England Aquarium in Boston is going to survey the reefs and I am going along as a guest. We are cruising from Nadi, Fiji on the Nai'a. If I get photos of any interesting branchs, I will e-mail the images to the Forum.
Best regards,
Mary Jane

mjadams@earthlink.net

Adams, M.J., 2000 (Jul 10) Help identifying other critters. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/2528

Dear Mary,
For flatworms, Dr. Wolfgang Seifarth, University Heidelberg, Germany, who has the Marine Flatworms of the World website at http://www.rzuser.uni-heidelberg.de/~bu6/index.html may be willing to help with flatworms. His email is seifarth@rumms.uni-mannheim.de.

For other groups it is difficult. If the Sea Slug Forum wasn't so busy I would have considered dealing with other molluscs as well but I have to have time to sleep and eat and do my 'real' job.

I hope your trip to the Phoenix Islands is productive.
best wishes,
Bill Rudman.

Rudman, W.B., 2000 (Jul 10). Comment on Help identifying other critters by Mary Jane Adams. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/2528

Help needed in Okinawa

May 23, 2000
From: Jackie Carter

Dear Sir,

As my partner and I were "surfing" the internet we found your helpful site. For our biology project we are searching for, observing, and writing a research paper on sea slugs. My partner and I are living on Okinawa and have no previous knowledge of sea slugs and would like the species names found on Okinawa. We would be grateful for any information pertaining to this topic since it is rather difficult finding information on this island.

Jackie Carter

darkstar247@hotmail.com

Carter, J., 2000 (May 23) Help needed in Okinawa. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/2426

Dear Jackie,
By some mischance during your surfing you missed The Okinawa Slug Site - Bob Bolland's nudibranchs from Okinawa site at: http://rfbolland.com/okislugs/ It should more than satisfy your needs.

A good book which you should be able to obtain quite easily is Atsushi Ono's Opisthobranchs of Kerama Island, which is an island group close to Okinawa.

If you have specific questions or would like to share any finds or observations with us, they would be very welcome.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.

Rudman, W.B., 2000 (May 23). Comment on Help needed in Okinawa by Jackie Carter . [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/2426

Participant List

April 25, 2000
From: Peter Hetzler

Excellent web site. how do I become a Participant? I represent the American Littoral Society.

Peter Hetzler, MD

americanlittoral@onelist.com

Hetzler, P., 2000 (Apr 25) Participant List. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/2308

Dear Peter,
Anyone can participate in the Forum by sending photos, asking questions, making comments or by just visiting, browsing and reading.
I encourage people to add some details to the Participant's List to add a little 'meat' to the bare names which appear with messages. It also provides a useful contact point and source of addresses for students and professionals. The Forum has about 5000 visitors a month, 1200 of them 'regulars' visiting either daily or 2-3 times a week.

I would have replied directly to your email address but it is some private 'egroup' which won't let me in, so if you send your details can you please use an accessible email address. I also had a look at the American Littoral Society website but could find no contact email addresses there for you or anyone.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.


Nudibranch from Thailand

March 30, 2000
From: Narongpon sittithaweepat

Dear Narongpon,
Could you please re-send your message. Your image file did not arrive. Please include the file type ending with the image filename. For example unidentifyslug.jpg not unidentifyslug.

I would have sent you an email but I am afraid your email address was incomplete as well.
Hope to hear from your soon,
Bill Rudman.


Help!

March 29, 2000
From: Rebecca Coffin

Hello!
I was walking yesterday on a beach just south of Santa Barbara, California. I found what I believed to be some kind of heart organ. It was about the size of a large man's fist. It was reddish pink and was relatively firm, muscular. It was shaped like a human heart and had different chambers... I gave it to the local police, thinking this was strange, and they, today, have declared it a sea slug. This is hard for me to believe because of the shape, I have been to to open heart surgeries, i know what a real heart looks like. Anyhow, I looked up sea sluhs today and none of the many I looked at looked anything like what I found. Also the normal size of nudibranches is said to be around one to two inches. This was much larger. It also did not have antenae and it was not flat on the bottom, as I assume one side of the slug would normally be. So if anyone could help me with thise problem I would be grateful!
Rebecca Coffin

coffinre1@gcc.edu

Coffin, R., 2000 (Mar 29) Help!. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/2169

Dear Rebecca,
Perhaps we should enrol the Police Dept as honorary Sea Slug Forum Participants! The most likely answer to your mystery would be a Sea Hare and there is a reddish one in California appropriately named Aplysia californica. When they wash up and die they do look a bit like a mammalian organ. I certainly have had them described as 'livers' so I guess a heart could also fit.

The other possibility was discussed in the Forum some time ago. There is a large reddish chiton Cryptochiton stelleri which washes up on your beaches and curled up looks like a red American football. There are some links to photos in another message.

I'm afraid its a bit difficult without a picture or a specimen to be really sure of what you found, but a Sea hare seems quite a good guess.
best wishes,
Bill Rudman.

Rudman, W.B., 2000 (Mar 29). Comment on Help! by Rebecca Coffin. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/2169

Scottish Nudibranchs Site

March 22, 2000
From: Jim Anderson

Having run out of web space on AOL I have moved the my Scottish Nudibranchs site to Freeserve. There are several new images added to some species and one new species, Onchidoris bilamellata now on the site.

The new address is http://www.a4454.freeserve.co.uk/scotnud1.html

Thanks
Jim A

jander4454@aol.com

Anderson, J., 2000 (Mar 22) Scottish Nudibranchs Site. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/2138

Post-Doc or Research Positionwork required

March 18, 2000
From: Cary Rogers

Hi all,

I am interested in obtaining a post doctoral or research associate position working on the ecology of opisthobranch molluscs, and would appreciate any information on possible jobs.
I have recently completed my Ph.D. which investigated the ecology of the sea hare Aplysia parvula near Sydney, Australia. The focus of this study was the costs and benefits of acquired algal secondary metabolites to Aplysia parvula. I have well developed skills in marine ecology, and to a lesser extent in natural products chemistry.

If anyone has such a position available, or may have a job available in the future please contact me.

Cary Rogers
University of New South Wales
Sydney

cary.rogers@unsw.edu.au

Rogers, C., 2000 (Mar 18) Post-Doc or Research Positionwork required. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/2109

I have known Cary for some years and his PhD thesis contains lots of exciting and interesting observations on the life history and biology of this small sea hare. Cary has promised to prepare a few 'articles' for the Forum when he finishes preparing the manuscripts he is publishing from his thesis. I would certainly recommend Cary to anyone looking for a research worker.
Bill Rudman.

2000 (Mar 18). Comment on Post-Doc or Research Positionwork required by Cary Rogers. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/2109

Re: Problems with website

March 12, 2000
From: Bill Rudman.

At the risk of tempting fate, our website server problems seem to be solved.
Bill Rudman.


Problems with website

March 10, 2000
From: Bill Rudman

Something strange has happened to our webserver which is stopping me from posting new messages on the Sea Slug Forum. Peter Firminger, our resident webwizard, is on a well-earned holiday, so I'm afraid there will be no new messages posted until some time Monday.
Bill Rudman.

billr@austmus.gov.au


Cadlina modesta & Hypselodoris cantabrica

February 29, 2000
From: Sylvain LE BRIS

Hi

Are Cadlina modesta and Cadlina marginata (both from Canada to California) the same species?

Where can I find a picture on the web of Hypselodoris cantabrica to identify nudibranchs I saw in French Atlantic cost (near Spain), and French Mediterranean cost.

Thanks
Sylvain LE BRIS

lebris@com.univ-mrs.fr

Le Bris, S., 2000 (Feb 29) Cadlina modesta & Hypselodoris cantabrica. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/1960

Dear Sylvain,

Do you mean Cadlina luteomarginata MacFarland, 1966? If so, as far as I know it is distinct from Cadlina modesta MacFarland, 1966. Unfortunately I don't have photos of either, or of Hypselodoris cantabrica.

One good place to find photos is Erwin Koehler's Opisthobranchs of the World Website which is a comprehensive list of links to opisthobranch photographs on the web. URL: http://www.medslugs.de/Opi/Opisthobranchia.htm. Both species of Cadlina are in Erwin's list, but not the Hypselodoris.

I am not sure from your message whether you have photos of the nudibranchs you saw in France. If you have, a good way to get them identified, and to let other people know what you found, is to send them to the Forum. I would be happy to add them.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.

Rudman, W.B., 2000 (Feb 29). Comment on Cadlina modesta & Hypselodoris cantabrica by Sylvain LE BRIS . [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/1960

Scottish Nudibranchs Website

February 24, 2000
From: Jim Anderson

Dear Bill,

My Scottish Nudibranch site at http://members.aol.com/jander4454/Scotnud1.html has recently been overhauled with three additional species plus some new images for some of the existing species.

Thanks to all those who have helped with IDs particularly Bernard Picton.

All comments will be appreciated.

Regards
Jim Anderson

jander4454@aol.com

Anderson, J., 2000 (Feb 24) Scottish Nudibranchs Website. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/1948

It's looking good Jim,
Bill Rudman.


Article for Molluscan Educational site?

February 19, 2000
From: Ross Mayhew

I am helping develop an educational site about molluscs: http://www.manandmollusc.net, and would be ABSOLUTELY delighted if one of you Nudibranch and/or Saccoglossan people who frequent this site, could find the time to write a short arcticle all about "sea slugs" of various kinds, with good illustrations. It would be geared to a high-school clientelle, so a moderate amount of scientific language could be used, with the more advanced terms explained. The time-frame is flexible - it could even be done after the university year is over in April! I could do something along these lines, but it is best done by a specialist, of which there are no doubt plenty who visit this site!

Sincerely yours,
Ross Mayhew

rmayhew@ns.sympatico.ca

Mayhew, R., 2000 (Feb 19) Article for Molluscan Educational site?. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/1924

Anyone need a volunteer assistant?

February 16, 2000
From: Phanor Montoya

Since I´m finishing my undergraduate program of Marine Biology I have to do some practical job, like an Internships or something like that. I would like to know if someone in Nth America or South America is working with nudibranchs and he\she would like to have me as a volunteer employee.

Thanks,

Phanor Montoya
Colombia,
South America

phamont@eudoramail.com

Montoya, P., 2000 (Feb 16) Anyone need a volunteer assistant?. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/1913

Dear Phanor,
Have a look at the Participants List for American nudibranch researchers. It proabbly hasn't got everyone, but it is a start.
Bill Rudman.


Info on nudibranchs

February 15, 2000
From: Ali Bishop

Bill

My name is Ali Bishop, and I am a 3rd year biology student at the University of Nottingham in the UK. I am researching and producing a project which includes nudibranchs, more specifically, nudibranchs found in Indonesian waters. This subject was sparked by my trip to Sulawesi, Indo, when I was an eco-survey volunteer with Operation Wallacea (mentioned on your Sea Slug Forum).

Basically, I am somewhat of a nudibranch novice. I was wondering whether you could point me in the direction of a good book about nudis.... at university level of content: anatomy, physiology, behaviour etc. Or would you suggest I just plough through the marine journals? I have done some searching on BIDS (not sure if that is an internet tool specific to British universities....) and have pulled up various journal titles, but I wondered if it would be better for me to start somewhere more general.

I think the sea-slug site is great... a real god-send for someone like me. If you have any advice at all about how to tackle all this, I would be really grateful.

Love Ali

P.S. I saw the Spanish Dancer whilst out in Indo ... are they rare or not? It was a pretty amazing sight.

plyralb@nottingham.ac.uk

Bishop, A.L., 2000 (Feb 15) Info on nudibranchs. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/1846

Dear Ali,
There are quite a few books on nudibranchs which basically record and describe species. (see list in the Forum's BOOK REVIEW section). You probably have also had a look at the websites in the LINKS list. Certainly some of the ones at the top of the list have anatomical and biological information.

As far as books go.

Tom Thompson's Biology of Opisthobranch Molluscs, Vol.1 published by the Ray Society, 1976, covers a lot of the relevant literature up until then and volume 2, Thompson, T.E. & Brown, G.H. (1984) Biology of Opisthobranch Molluscs, Vol 2. Ray Society: London, deals with the nudibranchs and more general background information.

I must also recommend Beesley, P.L., Ross, G.J.B. & Wells, A.(eds), Mollusca - The Southern Synthesis which you will find a review of in the Forum. It is quite expensive and although based on Australian examples, is relevant to the whole world. Of course opisthobranchs are only a relatively small part of the whole book. Maybe your library has a copy - if not it should.

The Spanish Dancer (Hexabranchus) when swimming, or even when not swimming, is definitely an amazing sight. Like many tropical animals it is sometimes quite abundant and then you won't find any for months. Have a look at the messages on the Hexabranchus Page to see some more spectacular photos of the animal.

If you have any specific questions please ask,
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.

Rudman, W.B., 2000 (Feb 15). Comment on Info on nudibranchs by Ali Bishop. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/1846

Re: Message backlog

February 15, 2000
From: Bill Rudman

As you may all have noticed I am posting quite a few messages per day at present. This is an attempt to clear the large logjam of messages which built up while I was on holiday. I am trying to deal with them in order but every now and then I find a really interesting one which I let jump the queue. I am sure you will all agree that there is no way I could let Atsushi Ono's photos of the amazing Hallaxa paulinae languish unseen for a week, waiting their turn in the queue.

So if your message hasn't appeared as quickly as your used to - be patient, I finally think I am making progress.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.


New address

February 14, 2000
From: Kathe Jensen

Hey everyone,

This is to inform you that as of 14 Febr. 2000 I will be moving to Thailand to take up a 2-year position at Asian Institute of Technology, just north of Bangkok. The position is funded by the Danish Foreign Aid programme, and I will be teaching in a new programme of Integrated Coastal Zone Management.

My address will be:
Dr. Kathe R. Jensen
School of Environment, Resources and Development
Asian Institute of Technology
P.O.Box 4 Klong Luang
Pathumthani 12120
Thailand

I will let you know when I have a new e-mail address.

Kathe Jensen

KRJensen@zmuc.ku.dk

Jensen, K., 2000 (Feb 14) New address. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/1883

Stephen Kempf's e-mail address

February 12, 2000
From: Juan Lucas Cervera

Dear Bill:

Could you or some other colleague supply me the Stephen Kempf's e-mail address?

Thank you.

Lucas.

lucas.cervera@uca.es

Cervera, J.L., 2000 (Feb 12) Stephen Kempf's e-mail address. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/1884

Dear Lucas,
Steve Kempf's email address is kempfsc@mail.auburn.edu.

I found it by using the SEARCH button on the blue band at the Top of each page. It didn't take me straight to an address but it did take me to one of the pages where Steve Kempf's website address is mentioned. I mention this because the SEARCH facility is a very simple and powerful way to find lots of information in the Forum which is not specifically in the Species or General Topics List. It searches through all the messages and other text files to find a match.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2000 (Feb 12). Comment on Stephen Kempf's e-mail address by Juan Lucas Cervera. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/1884

I'm back

January 17, 2000
From: Bill Rudman

Dear All,
I'm back from New Zealand and have a great pile of messages, emails etc to gradually deal with. I have just posted a welcome message recognising the worth of the Forum, and see there is a second in my list, which I will post as soon as possible. A nice way to start the New Year.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.


Address change

January 4, 2000
From: Manuel António E. Malaquias

Dear Bill,

This is just to announce my new contacts.
Thank you very much.

Manuel António E. Malaquias
Universidade do Algarve
U.C.T.R.A. - Centro de Ciências do Mar
Campus de Gambelas
8000-810 Faro
Portugal
tel. +351-289800900 (ext. 7031)
fax. +351-289818353
email:mmalaqui@ualg.pt

mmalaqui@ualg.pt

Malaquias, M.A.E., 2000 (Jan 4) Address change . [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/1729

Happy New Year!

January 3, 2000
From: Carlo Magenta da Cunha

Dear Friends,

Happy Christmas and lots of luck in 2000!
:P

Best Regards,

Carlo Magenta da Cunha

carlomagenta@uol.com.br

Magenta, C., 2000 (Jan 3) Happy New Year!. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/1716

Student seeking work placement

January 3, 2000
From: Becky Hothersall

I am a third year Zoology student at Glasgow University, and have recently been accepted onto my university's Work Placement Scheme. This means that if I am able to find a suitable placement, I will spend a year working in a relevant field before completing my final year.
I found this website, and wondered whether anyone could help me, or put me in contact with someone who could. I am particularly interested in conservation and behavioural ecology. I would be happy to send you a copy of my CV and further information on the scheme. It is difficult for me to access the internet regularly, so please send me any relevant messages to my email address.

Thank you for your help.
Becky Hothersall

r_hothersall@excite.com

Hothersall, B., 2000 (Jan 3) Student seeking work placement. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/1725

Happy New Year !

January 2, 2000
From: Bill Rudman

Glad to see the Y2K bug didn't get us. Happy New year to you all. I am on holiday on New Zealand at present so replies and posting of messages will be a lot slower than usual. I will be posting 'easy' messages, but those that require manipulation of images, ... or serious thought, will have to wait until after Jan 16 when I will be returning to Sydney.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.


Jon Havenhand/ Thomas Carefoot's email address

December 18, 1999
From: Juan Lucas Cervera

Dear Bill,

Could you (or someone) tell me the e-mail and postal address of Jon Havenhand and Thomas Carefoot?

Thank you very much.

Lucas.

lucas.cervera@uca.es

Cervera, J.L., 1999 (Dec 18) Jon Havenhand/ Thomas Carefoot's email address. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/1688

Dear Lucas,
I can't help, but with luck someone can.
Bill


New e-mail

December 13, 1999
From: Carlo Magenta da Cunha

Dears Friends,

Attention for my new e-mail! :)
carlomagenta@uol.com.br

Carlo Magenta

carlomagenta@uol.com.br

Dear Carlo,
How is your work on Aplysia brasiliana going? You have probably seen the correspondence about A. brasiliana in Florida. It would be nice to have a photo of A. brasiliana from Brazil, some idea of its colour variation, and some information on whether it swims or not. Can you help us?

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.


Details for the Participants' List

November 18, 1999
From: Mike and Valda Fraser

Dear Bill,
Here is the info you asked for the Participants' List:

Valda and Mike Fraser

iti04937@mweb.co.za

Fraser, V., 1999 (Nov 18) Details for the Participants' List. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/1537

Dear Mike & Valda,
Thanks for the information. I hope it encourages a few more to send in some background information. I don't want life histories, just something to 'personalise' the messages and to provide a point of contact.

Your photos are a very welcome addition to the Forum. Terry Gosliner's book showed the interesting nature of South Africa's east coast fauna, and your photos are filling in some more details. Like the southeastern Australian fauna, you seem to have a mixture of widespread tropical species and local endemics.
Bill Rudman.


Nudibranch screensavers

November 11, 1999
From: David A. Bailey

I need moving nudibranch screensavers. Real videos or digital creations. Not static pictures.

Thank you.
David

DAB4Freedom@webtv.net

Bailey, D.A., 1999 (Nov 11) Nudibranch screensavers. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/1514

There seems to be an explosion of screensavers with fish blowing bubbles etc. I suppose Sagaminopteron swimming would be spectacular.
Bill Rudman.


Re: Nudibranch research in the US

November 7, 1999
From: Shireen Fahey

Hi Carol,
About your enquiry. Here at San Francisco State University, (California) we have an excellent Marine Biology program. In the past three years in our lab, we've had three people complete their graduate degree by studying nudibranchs. San Francisco State has a joint research program with the California Academy of Sciences, where Dr. Terry Gosliner is leading us nudibranch researchers. We're having a lot of fun doing it too! Terry is our major professor at the Academy, and we each have had two other professors on our committee, either from San Francisco State or from the Academy. Dr. Angel Valdes from Spain is also here in our nudibranch lab. He is Terry's postdoc.
Two of us just finished our theses and oral defenses last week. It's a great program, and I highly recommend it.
San Francisco State's website is http://www.sfsu.edu

Shireen Fahey

sfahey@calacademy.org

Fahey, S., 1999 (Nov 7) Re: Nudibranch research in the US. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/1497

Nudibranch research in the US

November 4, 1999
From: Carol Diss

Can anyone tell me who is doing nudibranch research in the U.S.? I'm looking for a grad school...
Carol Diss

diss@uiuc.edu

Diss, C., 1999 (Nov 4) Nudibranch research in the US. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/1470

Dear Carol,
I'll let them answer for themselves
Bill Rudman.

1999 (Nov 4). Comment on Nudibranch research in the US by Carol Diss. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/1470

Change of email address

October 29, 1999
From: Bob Bolland

As of October 29, (TODAY) the e-mail address for Robert F. Bolland will be changed to: bollandr@rapid-link.ne.jp
The old address will be operable for a few weeks beyond the above date.

The Okinawa Slug Site URL http://rfbolland.com/okislugs will remain the same.

Thanks for making the change.
Cheers,
Bob

University of Maryland/ASIA
PSC 80, Box 14149,
APO AP96367

bollandr@rapid-link.ne.jp

Bolland, R.F., 1999 (Oct 29) Change of email address. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/1464

My new postal address

October 27, 1999
From: Bill Rudman

The Australian Museum changed its address 2-3 years ago but people are still using our old Post Box number. The Post Office have also just changed our postcode. This has made everybody confused and the Post Office - or some people in the Post Office - have started to send mail back to the sender, which can take 6-8 months from Australia to Europe by sea!

So could you all check your old mailing address lists and change the Australian Museum's address to:

Australian Museum
6 College St.,
Sydney, NSW 2010
Australia.

Bill Rudman.


Sea grass and opisthobranchs

September 16, 1999
From: Manuel Malaquias

Hello,

I am working with opisthobranchs associated with a sea grass (phanerogam) biota in a coastal lagoon in southern Portugal. I'd like to exchange experiences with anyone that works now or has worked on this subject. I'd like also to ask if you know about relevant papers.

Thank you very much.

Manuel Malaquias

m_malaquias@yahoo.com

Malaquias, M., 1999 (Sep 16) Sea grass and opisthobranchs. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/1340

May I introduce myself?

September 6, 1999
From: Erik Schloegl

Dear Bill,

After browsing the Sea Slug Forum a bit more extensively I fear I may have committed a faux pas by posting a message without properly introducing myself :-) So here goes (and please include me in the participants' list):

An underwater photographer since the last dive of my first open water course (I actually bought a Nikonos V before getting my own dive gear!), I quickly became an avid (photographic) collector of ophistobranchs. In the beginning it was mainly because these are (often) colourful animals which don't swim away when you try to take their picture (though I had a nudibranch run fast enough to get away under a coral when I was rather narc'ed on my first 40m dive), but my interest quickly grew to encompass all aspects of ophistobranch zoology.

I am a member of the Underwater Research Group of New South Wales ( http://www.eagles.bbs.net.au/~urgnsw/), where I'm infamous for my focus on nudibranchs. And when I'm not diving I lecture mathematics at the University of Technology, Sydney.

I'm looking forward to continuing to participate in the Sea Slug Forum!

Erik Schloegl
School of Mathematical Sciences
University of Technology,
Sydney

schloegl@maths.uts.edu.au

Schloegl, E., 1999 (Sep 6) May I introduce myself?. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/1301

Dear Erik,
No faux pas committed, though it is nice to have some background information. Better to communicate with a person rather than just a name. I look forward to further photos, queries etc.
Bill Rudman.


Greetings from Florida

September 3, 1999
From: Jr Powers

Hello All,
Just wanted to say that this is the greatest site. I come here all the time to look at what you've been collecting. Very nice pictures. I collect bubble shells from around the world but mostly Florida. None like the ones you have.
Thanks for sharing this site.
Jr Powers
126 Ash Street
Edgewater,
Florida 32141

apowersjr@aol.com

Powers, J, 1999 (Sep 3) Greetings from Florida. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/1292

Dear Jr,
I'm glad you find the Forum useful. If you have photos of living Bubble Shells they would be very welcome.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.

1999 (Sep 3). Comment on Greetings from Florida by Jr Powers. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/1292

Thanks

July 30, 1999
From: Ernest C.J. Seamark

Thank you for the ID of the specimens from South Africa.

I will try and get the other picks scanned.

Ernest C.J. Seamark

kearneyt@bio.und.un.ac

Dear Ernest,
Look forward to seeing them. There are still 2 or 3 I have still do.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.


Research Fellowship on Great Barrier Reef

June 25, 1999
From: Bill Rudman

At the Menfi Conference a number of people asked me about funding for research work in Australia and on the Great Barrier Reef. The Australian Museum has a Research Station at Lizard Island at the northern end of the Great Barrier Reef and has a Doctoral Research Fellowship for work at the station.

Applications are now invited for the 2000 Lizard Island Doctoral Fellowship.

The Fellowship provides funding for field work and equipment for a PhD student whose thesis research is based on coral reefs, of which a significant portion will be based at the Lizard Island Research Station. It is worth up to A$6,000 per year for up to three years. Funds for the first year of the 2000 Fellowship will be available in March 2000. For detailed information and application guidelines, see:
http://www.austmus.gov.au/science/projects/lizard/lizfello.htm

Applications close on 1 October 1999

Dr Anne Hoggett and Dr Lyle Vail,
Directors
Lizard Island Research Station
PMB 37
Cairns QLD 4871
Australia

Phone and fax: + 61 (0)7 4060-3977
lizard@austmus.gov.au
http://www.austmus.gov.au/science/projects/lizard/index.htm


Judith Hunter has died

June 2, 1999
From: Bill Rudman

It is with deep sadness I have to report that Judith Hunter, after a long illness, has died. Judith, and her collecting partner, Helen Woodward have been photographing and, where appropriate, collecting nudibranchs for the Australian Museum collections for about 30 years. This week, by chance, I posted pictures of both Chromodoris hunterae and Chromodoris woodwardae, two species I named after them some years ago. Professional taxonomists and biologists owe a great debt to the work of dedicated, intelligent amateur naturalists like Judith, who provide us with valuable information, photos and specimens, and through their probing and sensible questions help us to keep our publications intelligible.

Thank you Judith. I am sure that with your sense of humour you will enjoy watching over us as we puzzle over our specimens, wondering whether we really have a Chromodoris hunterae, or is it a pale colour form of Chromodoris woodwardae?, or even a Noumea haliclona?

Bill Rudman.

Rudman, W.B., 1999 (Jun 2). Comment on Judith Hunter has died by Bill Rudman. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/911

Email address change

May 7, 1999
From: Erwin Koehler

I am no longer contactible on my email address E.Koehler@DeutschePost.de

Please use Medslugs.Koehler@t-online.de

Thanks,
Erwin.

Koehler, E., 1999 (May 7) Email address change. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/852

research paper

May 6, 1999
From: Brian M. Barry

Hi,

My Name is Brian, and I am a college student about to graduate. I have to do a research paper on Sea slugs and I would really appreciate it if I could get some information on them. I need as much information as possible. Such as their habitat and what they eat and how they live.

Thank You
Very Much

Brian M. Barry

bbarry23@hotmail.com

Barry, B.M., 1999 (May 6) research paper. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/844

Dear Brian,
Perhaps you don't realise there is a lot of information on the Sea Slug Forum other than the Message List. For example if you have a look at the General Topics List you will find a lot of topics there that address the type of information you are looking for.

Another way to find things is to use the Search the Forum facility on the yellow bar at the top of your message. If you type words like food or feeding it will take you to pages with references to those topics. On most pages there are also messages and answers listed below the specific information at the top of the page. Have a look through the messages as they have a lot of information in them as well.

Good luck with your assignment,
Bill Rudman.

Rudman, W.B., 1999 (May 6). Comment on research paper by Brian M. Barry. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/844

Nudibranch photos from British Columbia

May 4, 1999
From: Marion Rose Keay

Hi Bill,

My name is Marion Rose Keay, I am an artist, and am presently working on some underwater scenes of species typical to the coast off British Columbia right now. I am doing pieces that include say a dozen nudibranchs of similar size and habitat together, or starfish found together all in one design, with appropriate fauna that relates, that sort of thing, and I was wondering about what would be involved with getting ahold of some photos that may be available. Do you know of someone who say sells one-time rights to use a particular photo, or has
a collection to choose from? I have some of the books available for technical information, but have come across some terrific photos on the net and thought it would be great to see if some of the same calliber were available somewhere. I don't even really know at this point if the cost would make it out of reach or not for me to do. Any help you may be able to give me or if you could pass on my name to someone would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you so much for your time.

Yours truly,
Marion Rose Keay

43781 Keith Wilson Rd.
Chilliwack, BC , Canada
V2R 4B5
Phone: 604-823-4120
Fax: 604-823-4808

keay@bc.sympatico.ca

Keay, M.R., 1999 (May 4) Nudibranch photos from British Columbia. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/842

Dear Marion,
Thanks for your email. I think the best move is to put your message on the Sea Slug Forum and see if anyone can help you. If someone can, perhaps they would also like to put a few on the Sea Slug Forum as well.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.


Re: what is this little guy?

April 6, 1999
From: Ian Kaminski

Bill,

thank you for your time and effort, they are appreciated.

Ian Kaminski

ian_kaminski@yahoo.com

Kaminski, I., 1999 (Apr 6) Re: what is this little guy?. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/758

what is this little guy?

April 2, 1999
From: Ian Kaminski

Dear sirs,

I recently found a nudibranch living in my 55 gallon reeftank he came from some Fiji live rock puchased in a pet store. I cannot find a picture to identify the species.

description:
light brown with small white patchs along top of body. approx. 3/4 of an inch long when not stretched out. no shell. Two antenna on the top front that are 1/16th of an inch.
Smooth body with a few spikes randomly along the body. "Very small" snout about 1/8th of an inch long at head that it is eating rock and coral, and then expells dust from
"eyes"? on left and right side 1/8th of an inch down the body past the base of the snout.

He likes to hide, and has a voracious appetite for the dead coral on the rocks. He is hard to see because he is perfectly color matched to the rock.

I wish i could give you a better description.
please give me an e-mail.

Thank you
Ian Kaminski

ian_kaminski@yahoo.com

Kaminski, I., 1999 (Apr 2) what is this little guy?. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/736

Dear Ian,
Your animal is a bit of a mystery and perhaps someone will recognise it from your description. My bet is that is not a Sea Slug at all. My reason for saying that is your description of it eating coral and expelling dust from its 'eyes' just behind the snout. It sounds to me like a small fish which is expelling dust through the gill openings on either side of the head. Some coral-eating fish spit the dust out but others expel stuff through the gill openings. I may be quite wrong but it doesn't sound like the behaviour of any Sea Slug I have encountered.

I guess one way of checking would be to gently poke or prod it and see how it moves. If it swims, wriggles, extends fins etc its a fish.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.

Rudman, W.B., 1999 (Apr 2). Comment on what is this little guy? by Ian Kaminski. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/736

Information on gastropods

March 8, 1999
From: Sandy Gessner

Hi I am a German exchange student at the Camarillo High school and I'm doing a research on Gastropods, Snails and Sluggs in special. If you could send me some information about it that would be great. I really want to do good on my report because I want to study marine biology and i think high school is the first step to develop my knowledge about biology and especially marine animals.
It would be really awesome if you would send something to me email adress i listed below.
Thank you so much for participation.

Yours,
Sandy Gessner

santacruz9@yahoo.com

Gessner, S., 1999 (Mar 8) Information on gastropods. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/646

Dear Sandy,
Out of curiosity, where is Camarillo High School? Is it in Australia, USA? or somewhere else?

I'm afraid your question is just too broad to answer. At present I think books are still the best place for very general information. The idea of the Sea Slug Forum is to provide more specialised information on a group of snails and slugs that normally don't get talked about much in books. If you have a look at the GENERAL TOPICS list you will find quite a few more general pages about sea slugs and what is a "slug" etc. On the Australian Museum's malacology pages you will find some pictures of snails and slugs. Also for more general information on snails and slugs have a look at some of the websites in the links listed on the malacology site. It is not a complete list of all the "snaily" sites but it should lead you to quite a few.
I hope you enjoy your exchange visit to Camarillo,
Best wishes with your research,
Bill Rudman.

Rudman, W.B., 1999 (Mar 8). Comment on Information on gastropods by Sandy Gessner. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/646

I'm in the Philippines again!

March 4, 1999
From: Erwin Koehler

I'm at the Philippines - back at March 23rd 1999
Erwin Koehler

E.Koehler@DeutschePost.de

Koehler, E., 1999 (Mar 4) I'm in the Philippines again!. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/637

Author of Berthellina quadridens

February 26, 1999
From: Manuel Malaquias

Hello,

Could someone tell me the name of the author and the date of classification of the species Berthellina quadridens.
Thank you very much.

m_malaquias@yahoo.com

Malaquias, M., 1999 (Feb 26) Author of Berthellina quadridens. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/620

mollusks

February 22, 1999
From: Randy Horn

I wAS juS WonderING HoW many SpecieS Are iN PhyLUM Mollusca.WhAt arE the OVEr all CHaRaCteristICS Of Mollusks.the simmilaritiies between mollusks and other animals.EConomIc impOrTAnce And SymbiOnic rElaToinShips. i AM veRy fASCInATed about mollUSKS anD i wAS wONdering if you can help me learn more about them

Ron61c@aol.com

Horn, R., 1999 (Feb 22) mollusks. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/600

Dear Randy,
I'm afraid your question is just too exhaustive for me to answer. Sea Slugs are just one small group of molluscs and as they have lost their shells or are in the process of doing so, are particularly abnormal members of the phylum.

I am not sure where you live, but the best book for this sort of information is a new 2 volume book which was published last year in Australia called Mollusca: The Southern Synthesis. Despite its name it covers all the mollusc families worldwide and has introductory chapters on all the questions you ask. Unfortunately it is a bit expensive but all good libraries should be urged to get a copy.

If you are interested there is a description of the book on Dave Behrens, Sea Challengers online bookshop at http://www.seachallengers.com/ (California) and at Patty Jansen's Capricornia Publications at http://www.capricornica.com/ (Sydney, Australia).

I hope that is of some help,
Bill Rudman.

Rudman, W.B., 1999 (Feb 22). Comment on mollusks by Randy Horn. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/600

Looking for a PhD supervisor

February 18, 1999
From: Lucie Hannah

I am a final year Marine Biology undergraduate at the University of Wales, Bangor (in the U.K). I am looking to find PhD research in the nudibranch field which I have been fascinated by for a while now. I am particularly interested in aeolid defence systems and have been scouting round to find a possible supervisor also interested in this.
If there is anyone who may know someone in this field, it would help me a lot with my search as I have found it difficult to find actual names on the web pages.

Thanks for reading this!!

Lucie Hannah
School of Ocean Sciences
Menai Bridge
University of Wales, Bangor

osu00c@bangor.ac.uk

Hannah, L., 1999 (Feb 18) Looking for a PhD supervisor. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/580

Okinawa Slug Site - New Address

February 15, 1999
From: Bob Bolland

Hi Bill,

Please note that I've done a complete reformat of the Okinawa Slug Site
and have moved the page onto another server. The new site address is now:http://rfbolland.com/okislugs

Hope all is going well.

Sincerely,
Bob

Robert F. Bolland
University of Maryland/ASIA
PSC 80, Box 14149, APO AP 96367
E-mail: bolland@imicom.or.jp

bolland@imicom.or.jp

Bolland, R.F., 1999 (Feb 15) Okinawa Slug Site - New Address. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/564

I've just had a look - very spectacular and easy to navigate. If there is anyone out there who doesn't regularly have a look at Bob's site then don't procrastinate any longer!


Change of Email address

February 4, 1999
From: Roberto Moresco

Dear Bill,
Could you please change my Email address to: Robertomoresco@hotmail.com

Many thanks and best regards,
Roberto Moresco.

Robertomoresco@hotmail.com

Moresco, R., 1999 (Feb 4) Change of Email address. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/537

Done!


Nomenclatural query about Diaphana hyalina

January 27, 1999
From: Manuel Malaquias

Dear Friends,

I'd like to know the author and the date of classification of the following species: Diaphana hyalina or Amphysphyra hyalina (Opisthobranchia: Cephalaspidea). I tried hard, and I didn't find nathing. This species were referred by McAndrew (1852) to Madeira Island (Atlantic, Portugal).
Thank you very much,

Manuel Malaquias
Estoril
PORTUGAL

m_malaquias@yahoo.com

Malaquias, M., 1999 (Jan 27) Nomenclatural query about Diaphana hyalina. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/516

Dear Manuel,

According to Tom Thompson (1976), both names you mention are synonyms of Diaphana minuta Brown, 1827.

His short synonymy lists the following:
Diaphana minuta Brown, 1827.
= Diaphana candida Brown, 1827.
= Bulla hyalina Turton, 1834.
= Amphisphyra hyalina Forbes & Hanley, 1850.
= Utriculus hyalinus Jeffreys, 1867.

If you have photos of Diaphana, or information on its biology, I would be happy to put them on the Sea Slug Forum.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.

Reference: T.E.Thompson (1976) Biology of Opisthobranch Molluscs vol 1. Ray Society: London

Rudman, W.B., 1999 (Jan 27). Comment on Nomenclatural query about Diaphana hyalina by Manuel Malaquias. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/516

Re:Red Sea phyllidiid mimic and Glossodoris

January 25, 1999
From: Michael Schroedl

Dear Bill,

Many thanks for quickly posting my messages and for your comments. I am going to do the complete anatomy of both Red Sea species (Phyllidiopsis mimic, Glossodoris sp.) and I will let you know the results.
Regarding Chilean slugs I have to concentrate on (finally!) finishing my thesis the next few months. Then I will be glad to contribute any pictures and informations of interest.

Best wishes,
Michael

Michael Schroedl, AG Bohn
Zoologisches Institut
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet
Luisenstr. 14
80333 Muenchen
Germany

schroedl@zi.biologie.uni-muenchen.de

Schroedl, M., 1999 (Jan 25) Re:Red Sea phyllidiid mimic and Glossodoris. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/514

Dear Michael,
Good luck with your thesis. When you have finished, any photos and information you have to share would be very welcome.
Bill Rudman.


Nudibranch books

January 16, 1999
From: Sergio

I'm looking for a nudibranchs books references.
Can you help me?

Sergio

info@icaspa.it

Avila, S., 1999 (Jan 16) Nudibranch books. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/482

Dear Sergio,
There are some listed on the BOOKS page and others can be found on the Sea Challengers and Capricornica book sites listed on the Online Bookshops Page.

These lists are not complete and you are probably interested in Mediterrenean books. There are a number of excellent books on the Mediterranean but I am afraid I haven't time to write such reviews myself. If anyone, including authors, would like to send me reviews of any relevant books I would be happy to publish them. Similarly if any of you know of online bookshops with natural history, and particularly Sea Slug books, please let me know.
Bill Rudman.

Rudman, W.B., 1999 (Jan 16). Comment on Nudibranch books by Sergio. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/482

Kerry Clark has died

January 13, 1999
From: Paula Mikkelsen

Dr. Kerry Bruce Clark, Professor of Biological Sciences at Florida Institute of Technology (Melbourne) and Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, died unexpectedly Sunday morning, 10 January 1999, of apparent heart failure. Kerry's research focused on the biology of opisthobranchs, including their physiology and ecological role in marine ecosystems. His publications, most notably on opisthobranch biodiversity, reproductive biology, systematics, and algal symbioses, found a wide variety of outlets. He was an equally active promoter of computerized tutorial techniques in biological sciences, particularly involving video imaging, 3-D modeling, and software development. "Metazoa," an award-winning CD-ROM exploration of invertebrate zoology, was his most significant brainchild. His students and colleagues will recall with fondness his eclectic sense of humor, his enthusiastic love of the variety of marine invertebrates, his junkets to Lake Surprise (Florida Keys), his favorite collecting device (the "Clark Sucker"), and his office door (AKA "Museum of Bidimensional Zoology"). A memorial service will be held at 2 pm on Saturday, 16 January, at the Florida Tech All-Faiths Center. His family asks that in lieu of flowers contributions be made to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (6000 Executive Blvd, Suite 309, Rockville, MD 20852).

Paula Mikkelsen

Paula M. Mikkelsen,
Curator of Malacology
Dept. of Invertebrates
American Museum of Natural History
Central Park West at 79th Street
New York, NY 10024-5192

mikkel@amnh.org

Mikkelsen, P., 1999 (Jan 13) Kerry Clark has died. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/463

Paula,
Even though I had never met Kerry, his work was well known to me. While many of us focus on anatomical problems, his studies, especially with sacoglossans, showed that they are living animals with interesting biological and ecological stories to tell. His studies on chloroplast retention in sacoglossans was of particular interest as it showed a fascinating similarity to the retention of zooxanthellae in the many "solar powered" nudibranchs described elsewhere in the Sea Slug Forum.

His West Atlantic Opisthobranch website, was one of the few places to get easy information on the opisthobranch fauna of that region. I hope it will be retained.

He will be sadly missed.
Bill Rudman.

Rudman, W.B., 1999 (Jan 13). Comment on Kerry Clark has died by Paula Mikkelsen. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/463

Mystery beast from Atlantic, west of Congo

January 12, 1999
From: Andrew Parker

My name is Andrew Parker and I am on board a seismic survey vessel to the west of africa on the same lattitude as the Congo.

we found attached to one of our streamers a Slug/catapiller like creature.
It is about 6 inches long, slate grey in colour its mouth is white and round similar to that of a loach. Its girth could be likened to that of an adult male 's index finger at the head end tapering to the size of a cigerette at the tail.

It had two external gills similar to a freshwater newt, these have since fallen off. the streamers have been kept at a depth of about 12 meters below the surface of the water.

It has a body makeup like a catapiller ie in sections, with what appear to be rows upon rows of legs underneath.

One of our men believes he may of been "Stung" by this creature. Therefore May I ask your help in discovering what type of creature it is and whether or not it is poisionous.

Any help you could give would be gratefully received.

thank you,
Andrew Parker

andrewparker@iname.com

Parker, A., 1999 (Jan 12) Mystery beast from Atlantic, west of Congo. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/458

Dear Andrew,
Its sounds a bit like a worm to me, but our worm expert isn't willing to hazard a guess without a bit more information. Have you scanner on board? Would it be possible to take a photo, or make a sketch of the animal, and send me a scan to give us a little bit else to go on?
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.

Rudman, W.B., 1999 (Jan 12). Comment on Mystery beast from Atlantic, west of Congo by Andrew Parker. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/458

A "Nudibranch Park"

January 6, 1999
From: Wayne Ellis

Hi Bill,
I thought you might be interested in this.    
Nudibranch Park, at Bargara, just outside Bundaberg, is reportedly one of Queensland's best shore dives.
    

Regards
Wayne

glaskin@ozemail.com.au

Ellis, W., 1999 (Jan 6) A "Nudibranch Park". [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/446

Thanks Wayne,
The name is a bit blurry on the sign but I believe you. At first I wondered whether you had altered the sign with a piece of chalk! .... Anyone else know of nudibranchs immortalised in local geography?
Bill Rudman.


New URL for World Opisthobranchs site

January 4, 1999
From: Erwin Koehler

Dear Bill,

I changed the system of the "Opisthobranchs of the World" section (only one "click" for each species) and the URL is now: http://www.medslugs.de/Opi/Opisthobranchia.htm

Erwin

E.Koehler@deutschepost.de

Koehler, E., 1999 (Jan 4) New URL for World Opisthobranchs site. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/438

Thanks Erwin,
It looks good. I'll change my links pages as soon as possible.
Bill.


British Opisthobranch site has moved

December 17, 1998
From: Bernard Picton

Hi Bill,

Please note that I just moved the Nudibranchs of the British Isles - our museum still doesn't have an official site.

http://www.pictonb.freeserve.co.uk/

Bernard

bernard.picton.um@nics.gov.uk

Picton, B., 1998 (Dec 17) British Opisthobranch site has moved. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/403

Thanks Bernard,
I noticed a few days ago when I was looking for a Spurilla picture, and updated our link.
Bill


Sea Slug

December 15, 1998
From: Jake Miller

Miller, J., 1998 (Dec 15) Sea Slug. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/388

Dear Jake,
Your message and email address got lost somewhere between you and Sydney. Could you try again please.
Bill Rudman.


Hello from Brazil

December 7, 1998
From: Carlo Magenta

Dear Dr Rudman,

I'm Brasilian and I'm trainee in Zoological Museum of University of Sao Paulo, do you know? I'm working on the anatomy of Aplysia brasiliana with Dr. Luiz SIMONE.

I'm going here to congratulate you for job.

Your Truly,

Carlo Magenta

(PS. Sorry for my poor english.)

magenta@goldtec.com.br

Magenta, C., 1998 (Dec 7) Hello from Brazil. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/364

Dear Carlo,
Thanks for your message. The address of the University of Sao Paulo, and the home address of the Marcus's ("Caixa Postal 6994" I think?) were well known to me when Ernst and Eveline Marcus were alive. I am glad to see that someone is keeping the tradition of opisthobranch research alive in Sao Paulo.

I have added your details to the Participants List.

Best Wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 1998 (Dec 7). Comment on Hello from Brazil by Carlo Magenta. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/364

Photo of Doris verrucosa

December 3, 1998
From: Roberto G. S. Berlinck

Dear colleagues,
I need a reference where I may find a photo of the opistobranch Doris verrucosa for identification purposes. If someone can send a copy of the photo by attached file, I will be extremely grateful.

Thanks for your help.

Roberto G.S. Berlinck
Instituto de Quimica de Sao Carlos
Universidade de Sao Paulo
CP 780, CEP 13560-970
Sao Carlos, SP - Brazil
fax: 00-55-16-2739987

rberlink@iqsc.sc.usp.br

Berlinck, R.G.S., 1998 (Dec 3) Photo of Doris verrucosa. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/353

Dear Roberto,
I have done a quick search and can't find a picture on the web. Perhaps if someone has one they could send me a copy to put on the Sea Slug Forum. .. Bill Rudman


Re: Sea Slug Anatomy Drawings

November 19, 1998
From: Claire

Dear Bill,

Thank you very much. I appreciate you getting back so soon.

Sincerely,

Claire

claire@starhawk.com


Re: Sea Slug Forum

November 16, 1998
From: Laura Adamkewicz

Thanks! You made a sale with your promises of color variants and are now promoted to "bookmarked". I appreciate the effort that you go to to make this information available.

Laura Adamkewicz

ladamkew@gmu.edu

Adamkewicz, L., 1998 (Nov 16) Re: Sea Slug Forum. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/306

I'm at Bohol

November 16, 1998
From: Erwin Koehler

I'm at Bohol, Philippines - back at Nov.30th 1998

Erwin Koehler

E.Koehler@deutschepost.de

Koehler, E., 1998 (Nov 16) I'm at Bohol. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/308

Erwin,
I hope you'll have some interesting photos to send us when you return.
Bill


creature identification

November 9, 1998
From: Corinne Roberts

Hi!
I hope you can help us... we have found an unusual creature in our aquarium...My daughter says it could be a nudibranch. It is oval, dark and and now thousands of tiny hairs all around outer edges. It is dorsoventrally flat and has two antennae (small). I do not see any of the external gill things though.

I think it resembles a football.

Do you think this is a nudibranch or a flatworm??

Thanks for any assistance

Corinne Roberts

stacysmom@juno.com

Roberts, C., 1998 (Nov 9) creature identification. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/293

Dear Corinne,

I must admit defeat. It could be a nudibranch, flatworm or even one of the polychaete scaleworms which are often oval shaped. Perhaps it has a shell and is a limpet or a juvenile cowry? Without some idea of where in the world you live, and where your animal is likely to have come from, how big it is etc, its very difficult to even guess.

A photo would be a great help, or even a rough drawing. If you can't scan an image then send it by post to me at:
The Australian Museum,
6 College St,
Sydney, NSW 2000
Australia.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.

Rudman, W.B., 1998 (Nov 9). Comment on creature identification by Corinne Roberts. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/293

Sea Slug Anatomy Drawings

November 6, 1998
From: Claire

I'm researching and writing a report on sea slugs. I'm trying to find resource on the web that will include anatomy drawings of sea slugs of external and internal characteristics.

Does someone know where these may be located on the web?

Thanks,

Claire.

claire@starhawk.com

Dear Claire,
I'm afraid I don't know anywhere with much in the way of anatomical drawings. I suggest a good mollusc text book.

If you look through this site and the others listed in the links section you should find plenty of good illustrations of external features..but there are not many diagrams.
Bernard Picton's British nudibranch site has a few, and some good introductory information.

A good source of information on mollusc phylogeny and anatomy and the most comprehensive and up to date work would be:
Beesley,P.L., Ross,G.J.B. & Wells,A (eds) 1998. Mollusca: The Southern Synthesis. Fauna of Australia Vol 5.. CSIRO Publishing : Melbourne. Part A pp1-563. Part b pp 564-1234.
[I must declare I was involved in writing parts of it, but it is generally accepted as the best around at the moment].

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 1998 (Nov 6). Comment on Sea Slug Anatomy Drawings by Claire. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/287

red gilled nudibranch

October 16, 1998
From: Jared Harlow

Can you give me some information on the red gilled nudibranch.

I am a secondary school student
Can you please help?

Jared Harlow
Mexico

snowgrass@hotmail.com

Harlow, J., 1998 (Oct 16) red gilled nudibranch. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/263

Dear Jared,
It is a bit of a problem using common names as different people use the same name to refer to different species. I just did a quick search and found three sites with "red gilled nudibranchs". They are:

http://biodidac.bio.uottawa.ca/Thumbnails/GAST049P-GIF.htm
Red gilled nudibranch, Coryphella sp. Late Sept 1990 Powell River, Mermaid Cove, (Canada?)

http://www.clever.net/kerry/creature/creature.htm
Flabellina fusca and Flabellina verrucosa Geographic Range: Flabellina fusca has a range from Alaska to Oregon. Flabellina verrucosa's range is circumboreal from Alaska to the San Juan's and Japan and the north Atlantic

http://www.clic.net/~willeme/feuillet/nom.html (St Lawrence River --Canada)
Red gilled nudibranch
Flabellina rufibranchialis.

All these animals are aeolid nudibranchs which have tapering tubular papillae on their backs which are called CERATA. Each ceras has a duct running from the base to the tip which is a branch of the digestive gland. Often its colour chnages depending on the colour of the food it is eating. Have a look at Favorinus japonicus for an example of an aeolid that changes colour as its food changes. Have a look at the aeolid cnidosac for an tropical Indo-West Pacific aeolid, Flabellina rubrolineata which is related to the "red gilled nudibranchs" listed above from the temperate northern hemisphere.

The cerata are often called "gills" because they do have that function as well.

I hope that is some help,
Bill Rudman.

Rudman, W.B., 1998 (Oct 16). Comment on red gilled nudibranch by Jared Harlow. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/263

Back in business

October 6, 1998
From: Terry Gosliner

Dear Bill,
The opisthobranch unit at the California Academy of Sciences is pleased to hear that you are doing so well and that you are keeping the forum going from home. We wish you all the best to be back in the tide pools finding chromodorids very soon. all the best,
Terry
Rebecca Johnson
Shireen Fahey
Angel Valdes
Manuel Ballesteros (visiting from Barcelona for 4 months)

Terry Gosliner

tgosliner@casnotes1.calacademy.org

Gosliner, T., 1998 (Oct 6) Back in business. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/247

Thanks Terry to you and your gang, and again thanks to all of my friends, colleagues and Forum participants who have sent cards and emails. .. Bill.


address of Mr R. Burn

October 3, 1998
From: Francisco J. García

Dear all

Could anyone tell me the e-mail or address of Mr R. Burn.

Thanks

Francisco J. García.
Spain.
17 September 1998

fjgarcia@cica.es

García, F.J., 1998 (Oct 3) address of Mr R. Burn. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/238

Dear Francisco,
Bob Burn's postal address is
3 Nantes Street,
Newtown, Geelong,
Victoria 3220,
AUSTRALIA.

I don't think he has an email address .. Bill Rudman.


Back in business

October 2, 1998
From: Bill Rudman

To those of you who knew I had to have heart bypass surgery at rather short notice, thanks for the kind messages. It is amazing that only 2 weeks ago I was being rather severely dissected. But I guess that's why heart doctors get paid a lot more than slug doctors!

During the next month or so while I recover I will be editing the Slug Forum from home. So please give me something to keep me occupied by sending some messages, questions, observations, pictures etc. It will be best if messages are sent through the Slug Forum but messages sent to my email address will be forwarded to me.

Bill Rudman.

Rudman, W.B., 1998 (Oct 2). Comment on Back in business by Bill Rudman. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/242

Flamingo Tongue

September 8, 1998
From: Angela Snyder

Is a Flamingo Tongue considered a Nudibranch even if it has a shell? If not, what is it? Thanks.
Angela

c7329@aol.com

Snyder, A., 1998 (Sep 8) Flamingo Tongue. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/218

Dear Angela,
The Flamingo Tongue is not an opisthobranch. It belongs to a family of snails called "false cowries" (Ovulidae) which live and feed on gorgonian soft corals. Interestingly their animal has evolved large flaps which cover most of their shell. These flaps are usually brightly coloured and like many nudibranchs they contain distasteful chemicals which deter fish from eating them. I am not sure whether "Flamingo Tongue" refers to just one species or all the species of the genus Cyphoma. I think they are only found in the Caribbean. ... Bill Rudman.

Rudman, W.B., 1998 (Sep 8). Comment on Flamingo Tongue by Angela Snyder. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/218

Message backlog

September 4, 1998
From: Bill Rudman

Sorry there has not been any response from me in the last couple of weeks but I have been sick. I'll get the backlog sorted out as soon as possible. ... Bill Rudman


bushy backed sea slug

September 4, 1998
From: Erwin Koehler

Dear Bill,
I found a "bushy backed sea slug" at http://www.alaska.net/~scubaguy/gallery.htm maybe this is it...
Erwin
Erwin Koehler
25 Aug 1998

E.Koehler@deutschepost.de

Koehler, E., 1998 (Sep 4) bushy backed sea slug. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/225

Thanks Erwin. If you're right it looks like Dendronotus dalli Bergh, 1879 which is found from the Bering Sea to British Columbia according to David Behrens excellent book "Pacific Coast Nudibranchs." He says it is a good swimmer, feeds on stalked bryozoans and can grow to 135mm. .. Bill Rudman.

Rudman, W.B., 1998 (Sep 4). Comment on bushy backed sea slug by Erwin Koehler. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/225

bushy backed sea slug again

September 4, 1998
From: Erwin Koehler

Dear Bill,
a bushy backed nudibranch:
http://www.tallships.istar.ca/jodive/marinelife/17.htm

Erwin
Erwin Koehler
26 August 1998

E.Koehler@deutschepost.de

Koehler, E., 1998 (Sep 4) bushy backed sea slug again. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/226

Thanks again Erwin. This is another species of Dendronotus, D. frondosus which is found throughout the cool temperate waters of the northern hemisphere where it feeds on hydroids and bryozoans. It looks like bushy backed sea slug is becoming a common name for species of Dendronotus. .. Bill Rudman.

Rudman, W.B., 1998 (Sep 4). Comment on bushy backed sea slug again by Erwin Koehler. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/226

Bushy Backed sea slug

August 18, 1998
From: Ben

I'm a 6th grader in Raleigh , NC. I'm looking for information on the bushy backed sea slug.

theprues@mindspring.com

Dear Ben,
I am not sure what you mean by the "bushy backed sea slug". Is it a name you got from a book? Unfortunately common names are a bit of problem because different people will use different common names for the same animal or the same common name for quite different animals. That is why scientific names, although they look a bit difficult, are the best names to use. Quite a lot of sea slugs have "bushy growths" on their backs. The aeolid sea slugs, like Flabellina rubrolineata have tubular cerata on their backs which make them look quite "bushy". Another "bushy growth" on the backs of sea slugs is the circle of gills that many dorids like Nembrotha lineolata and Chromodoris splendida have on their backs.

If you can tell me where you found the name "bushy backed sea slug" perhaps I can give you some more information about it.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 1998 (Aug 18). Comment on Bushy Backed sea slug by Ben. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/211

Cindy Pandini and Cyerce

August 18, 1998
From: Bill Rudman

Dear Cindy,
I have received your message about Cyerce nigricans. I am unable to contact you at your email address so could you email me at billr@austmus.gov.au so I can check on a few details. ... Bill Rudman


Port Stephens List

August 13, 1998
From: Wayne Ellis

Here is a preliminary checklist of nudibranchs from Port Stephens NSW Australia compiled from my own records & photographs 1981-1993. The number of species at Port Stephens far exceeds this small representation. Please add your sightings by sending me details.

Wayne Ellis

glaskin@ozemail.com.au

Ellis, W., 1998 (Aug 13) Port Stephens List. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/208