ID Please

sage_commander · 05/29/2007, 05:57 PM

This guy has doubled in size since Saturday.

Any ideas? Thanks.

Sk8r · 05/29/2007, 05:59 PM

looks like a sponge, maybe pineapple sponge. Harmless, but can be a bit of a pest.

sage_commander · 05/29/2007, 06:12 PM

Sorry Sk8r, I forgot to mention that it moves all over like a slug. It actually looks like what a snail might look like without its shell.

sage_commander · 05/29/2007, 06:35 PM

Went to the TBS site and found this:

It's a white sea slug. Should I leave him in?

techreef · 05/30/2007, 09:09 AM

It doesn't really look like a polyclad flatworm to me, as it seems to have quite a bit of bulk. I'd post this pic or a link to this thread in the Other Invertebrates forum here on RC. There are some super experts that frequent that board. They'll most likely have an ID for you.

pagojoe · 05/30/2007, 12:00 PM

You will probably need to remove the animal and photograph it in a dish of water to get the details necessary for a positive ID. I've seen three different posts recently that appear to be this animal, but I don't think any of them ever got satisfactory answers. It may be a velutinid, but I don't have access to a tremendous number of photos of this family. It does look too "bulky" to be a flatworm.

Cheers,

Don

pagojoe · 05/30/2007, 12:31 PM

By the way, I can't tell for sure, but it looks like the animal has a snail-like head. The Velutinidae are extremely varied, but in general, they are somewhat tent shaped, like a flatworm with a hump in the middle. Here is one resembles your animal, although I doubt it's actually the same species:

http://www.seaslug.info/display.cfm?id=13816

Don

pagojoe · 05/30/2007, 12:34 PM

Cruise these in your spare time:

http://www.seaslug.info/showall.cfm?base=lamellar

clayspst · 05/30/2007, 12:39 PM

i have one also. it is in my overflow

sage_commander · 05/30/2007, 12:56 PM

Thanks for those links, Don. It looks a lot like Lamellaria diegoensis from Oregon, from that second link. I have not caught it munching on anything I want to keep around, but I'm going to keep an eye on his size.

It does have a snail-like head. He has a "snout," as my wife put it. He also glides quite easily over the rock.

pagojoe · 05/30/2007, 01:06 PM

You're welcome. If it is a velutinid, it will probably feed on colonial ascidians, as Bill Rudman notes in the links above. It probably has an internal shell that will look somewhat like a normal snail shell. If the animal dies, or if you decide to remove it, drop the animal in bleach for a few minutes and remove the soft tissue from the shell, then save the shell. The shell, along with your photos of the live animal, could be valuable to a researcher working on this family (and should enable a positive ID, assuming the animal has a name already).

Cheers,

Don

05/29/2007, 05:57 PM	#1
sage_commander Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Poulsbo WA Posts: 646	ID Please This guy has doubled in size since Saturday. Any ideas? Thanks.

05/29/2007, 05:59 PM	#2
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	looks like a sponge, maybe pineapple sponge. Harmless, but can be a bit of a pest. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

05/30/2007, 12:39 PM	#9
clayspst Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Seven Hills, OH Posts: 2,741	i have one also. it is in my overflow __________________ Support Search and Rescue........GET LOST!

05/29/2007, 06:12 PM	#3
sage_commander Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Poulsbo WA Posts: 646	Sorry Sk8r, I forgot to mention that it moves all over like a slug. It actually looks like what a snail might look like without its shell.

05/29/2007, 06:35 PM	#4
sage_commander Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Poulsbo WA Posts: 646	Went to the TBS site and found this: It's a white sea slug. Should I leave him in?

05/30/2007, 09:09 AM	#5
techreef Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Montclair, NJ Posts: 1,046	It doesn't really look like a polyclad flatworm to me, as it seems to have quite a bit of bulk. I'd post this pic or a link to this thread in the Other Invertebrates forum here on RC. There are some super experts that frequent that board. They'll most likely have an ID for you.

05/30/2007, 12:00 PM	#6
pagojoe Team RC Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Conroe, TX Posts: 2,761	You will probably need to remove the animal and photograph it in a dish of water to get the details necessary for a positive ID. I've seen three different posts recently that appear to be this animal, but I don't think any of them ever got satisfactory answers. It may be a velutinid, but I don't have access to a tremendous number of photos of this family. It does look too "bulky" to be a flatworm. Cheers, Don

05/30/2007, 12:31 PM	#7
pagojoe Team RC Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Conroe, TX Posts: 2,761	By the way, I can't tell for sure, but it looks like the animal has a snail-like head. The Velutinidae are extremely varied, but in general, they are somewhat tent shaped, like a flatworm with a hump in the middle. Here is one resembles your animal, although I doubt it's actually the same species: http://www.seaslug.info/display.cfm?id=13816 Don

05/30/2007, 12:34 PM	#8
pagojoe Team RC Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Conroe, TX Posts: 2,761	Cruise these in your spare time: http://www.seaslug.info/showall.cfm?base=lamellar

05/30/2007, 12:56 PM	#10
sage_commander Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Poulsbo WA Posts: 646	Thanks for those links, Don. It looks a lot like Lamellaria diegoensis from Oregon, from that second link. I have not caught it munching on anything I want to keep around, but I'm going to keep an eye on his size. It does have a snail-like head. He has a "snout," as my wife put it. He also glides quite easily over the rock.

05/30/2007, 01:06 PM	#11
pagojoe Team RC Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Conroe, TX Posts: 2,761	You're welcome. If it is a velutinid, it will probably feed on colonial ascidians, as Bill Rudman notes in the links above. It probably has an internal shell that will look somewhat like a normal snail shell. If the animal dies, or if you decide to remove it, drop the animal in bleach for a few minutes and remove the soft tissue from the shell, then save the shell. The shell, along with your photos of the live animal, could be valuable to a researcher working on this family (and should enable a positive ID, assuming the animal has a name already). Cheers, Don