| Sargassum nudibranch | |
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| Species: | S. pelagica |
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| Scyllaea pelagica [1] Linnaeus, 1758 | |
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Scyllaea pelagica, common name the sargassum nudibranch, is a species of nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Scyllaeidae. This species lives among floating seaweed in the world's oceans, feeding on hydroids.
Scyllaea pelagica is a sturdy nudibranch that grows to a length of about 10 cm (4 in). It is dorso-ventrally flattened. At the anterior end there are two pairs of sensory tentacles and a pair of rhinophores enclosed in large rhinophore sheaths. On the sides of the body are two pairs of irregular lobes with toothed edges and squared ends known as cerata. The inner surfaces of these bear numerous small gills. At the posterior end of the body there is a flattened dorsal crest. The skin is smooth except for a few conical tubercles. The colour is a dull yellowish-brown or greenish-brown with some small white markings. Sometimes there is a row of tiny bright blue spots along each side. [1] [2] [3]
Scyllaea pelagica occurs globally in pantropical oceans among floating masses of weed. [2] It is especially common in the Caribbean area and Gulf of Mexico and it often gets washed up onto the beach with seaweed after storms. [4]
Scyllaea pelagica is nearly always a pelagic species but is occasionally found on brown seaweed anchored to the seabed. It spends its life among sargasso weed ( Sargassum spp.) floating in tropical seas where it is well camouflaged. It feeds by grazing on the hydroids that grow on the weed [3] and if it gets detached from the fronds can swim to a limited extent by flexing its body. [4]
Scyllaea pelagica is a hermaphrodite. Two individuals come together to exchange sperm through their genital openings and fertilisation is internal. The eggs are laid in a jelly coated mass on the weed and the trochophore larvae are planktonic. [3] Studies using radioactive carbon labelling have shown that in nutrient-poor waters such as the Sargasso Sea, the larvae of Scyllaea pelagica can directly incorporate into their epidermis and cerata, amino acids that have been added to the water. [5]
Sargassum is a genus of brown macroalgae (seaweed) in the order Fucales of the Phaeophyceae class. Numerous species are distributed throughout the temperate and tropical oceans of the world, where they generally inhabit shallow water and coral reefs, and the genus is widely known for its planktonic (free-floating) species. Most species within the class Phaeophyceae are predominantly cold-water organisms that benefit from nutrients upwelling, but the genus Sargassum appears to be an exception. Any number of the normally benthic species may take on a planktonic, often pelagic existence after being removed from reefs during rough weather. Two species have become holopelagic—reproducing vegetatively and never attaching to the seafloor during their lifecycles. The Atlantic Ocean's Sargasso Sea was named after the algae, as it hosts a large amount of Sargassum.
Doto amyra, or the hammerhead doto, is a species of very small or minute sea slug, a nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusk in the family Dotidae.
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Bornellidae is a family of nudibranch sea slug - marine gastropod molluscs in the superfamily Tritonioidea.
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Cratena capensis, the orange-eyed nudibranch, is a species of sea slug, specifically an aeolid nudibranch. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Facelinidae.
Planes minutus is a species of pelagic crab that lives in the North Atlantic Ocean. It is typically less than 10 mm (0.4 in) long across the back, and is variable in colouration, to match its background. It may have been the crab seen by Christopher Columbus on Sargassum weed in the Sargasso Sea in 1492.
Scyllaea is a genus of nudibranchs. They are marine gastropod molluscs in the family Scyllaeidae.
Portunus sayi, the sargassum swimming crab, is a species of pelagic crab in the family Portunidae. It is found in the western Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea where it makes its home among floating mats of Sargassum seaweed. It was named in honour of the American naturalist Thomas Say.
Cratena peregrina, commonly called the pilgrim hervia, is a species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Facelinidae.
Piseinotecus gonja is a species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Piseinotecidae.
Piseinotecus kima is a species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Piseinotecidae.
Berghia stephanieae is a species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Aeolidiidae. It was previously known as Aeolidiella stephanieae.
Aeolidia loui is a species of sea slugs, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Aeolidiidae. It has been regarded as the same species as the NE Atlantic Aeolidia papillosa but is now known to be a distinct species. Common names include shaggy mouse nudibranch, and shag-rug nudibranch.
Janolus flavoanulatus is a sea slug species. The specific name is derived from Latin words flavus (“yellow”) and anulatus (“ringed”). These soft-bodied mollusks are known for their extraordinary colors and prominent forms. The first description of this species was reported by researcher Terry Gosliner, a leading researcher in the evolutionary history of nudibranchs. Upon his conducted research in the Philippines, Gosliner named Janolus flavoanulatus for its yellow ring around its cerata.