Atagema sp. 2.

Order: NUDIBRANCHIA
Suborder: DORIDINA
Family: Dorididae

Formerly known as Trippa sp. 1. See message

Probably a juvenile Atagema intecta. See message below.

Authorship details
Rudman, W.B., 1999 (July 1) Atagema sp. 2. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/tripsp1

Related messages


Re: abseiling Trippa

May 15, 1999
From: David & Leanne Atkinson

Hi Bill,

Thank you for your reply in the forum to our questions. We only just got them. I have been off the internet with computer problems for some time. Still not completely fixed yet.

You may use my Nembrotha mating picture for your article on nudibranchs mating. Do you want any others. I'm sure that I have several shots Bennet's mating and possibly others.

What pattern do Nembrotha eggs usually take ?

The Trippa that I sent you was actually full grown (around 20 mm).

David & Leanne Atkinson

atkin@hunterlink.net.au

Atkinson, D. & L., 1999 (May 15) Re: abseiling Trippa. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/866

Dear David & Leanne,
I would love to see any other mating pictures you have. Hopefully I can get a few more general topic pages organised in the not too distant future.

Concerning Nembrotha egg masses. The ones I have seen look much like a 'normal' dorids. That is a flat spiral band attached along one edge.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.

Rudman, W.B., 1999 (May 15). Comment on Re: abseiling Trippa by David & Leanne Atkinson. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/866

Trippa 'abseiling'

April 14, 1999
From: David & Leanne Atkinson

Hi Bill,

We have been busy diving over Easter and have seen and photographed some interesting things at Fly Point, Port Stephens, New South Wales. One of them was an observation of a Trippa 'abseiling' down a cliff on a 'spider web'. The 'spider web' didn't show up in the picture. I presume it was a thin strand of mucus produced for this purpose.

David & Leanne Atkinson

atkin@hunterlink.net.au

Atkinson, D. & L., 1999 (Apr 14) Trippa 'abseiling'. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/772

Thanks David & Leanne,
Little nudibranchs, especially juveniles often make use of their sticky mucus to move like this. It stops them being washed away in the currents. I guess the mucus is just not strong enough for larger animals to use in the same way.

I think your animal is probably a juvenile of Trippa intecta.

Rudman, W.B., 1999 (Apr 14). Comment on Trippa 'abseiling' by David & Leanne Atkinson. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/772