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Favorinus sp. 10 ( NSSI 2nd Ed) & Diniatys dubius
Images courtesy of Kevin LeeMilne Bay, PNG
Nov. 2018
Not sure where to start with this double whammy BOW - it's kind of a "what came first? -- the chicken or the egg" dilemma. Thanks Kevin for tossing this wild one to us.
Oh come on - the egg always comes first, so let's talk about Diniatys. Kevin noticed the egg balls right away with predatory slugs both inside and outside, but he wasn't even sure he photographed the eggs parents.
Shame on you - Kevin. But he did.
Diniatys dubius (Schepman, 1913) is easily identified by its network of brown lines on this cephalaspidean's, aka head-shield slug's, body.
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It is not very common because it spends most of its time under the surface of the sandy bottom, feeding on cyanobacteria. Love to know if Alicia Hermosillo McKowen (Ali) had anything to do with this find.
Their egg balls are a perfect give away to a diver to look around carefully for the presence of mom or dad.
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Okay - how about the predatory bugger? We have known for a long time that good old undescribed Favorinus sp. 10 feeds on the egg balls of Diniatys.
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Kev's great series of shots shows the color variation of individuals feeding on egg inside the hollow globular mass (should I mention they actually tuck their rhinophores and cerata close to their body as they swim through the mucus of the egg mass feeding on developing embryos (see NSSI 2nd Ed, pages 11 & 12 (fig 13). Kevin documented a quite different color variant feeding on the outside of the egg ball. Was it trying to get into the ball, or just feeding on algae on the surface of the mass? I am speculating the algae concept because of the reddish cerata, close to the red epiphytic algae on the surface of the eggs. Just a guess.
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Now what we need is a photo of the Favorinus' eggs - Kevin and Ali - are you up to this?
Sammamish, WA 98074
Feb., 2019
Send Dave email at davidwbehrens@gmail.com
Send Kevin email at diverkevin@gmail.com
Kevin Lee, Dave Behrens, and Christiane Waldrich
relaxing after a hard day of slug hunting at Villa Markisa Saraya, Bali,Indonesia!
Kevin certainly needs no introduction to the Southern California Dive Community! On an international level you may have encountered Kevin as he certainly gets around on a life time quest to photograph the many treasures of the undersea world. Based in Fullerton, California, Kevin Lee's adventure gene has taken him to over forty countries. After learning to scuba dive, in 2002, he embraced underwater photography as a way of sharing the ocean's wonders with non-divers. Though aesthetics is important in his photography, Kevin also strives to capture unique perspectives that are of interest to marine biologists and other scientists who study ocean creatures and their anatomy/phylogeny. Though Kevin photographs all marine life that fits in his macro lens, opisthobranchs are his favorite subject. He has photographed and collected invertebrate specimens, with proper permitting, all around the world for scientific research. These pursuits have taken him scuba diving in all Seven Continents, including Antarctica where water temperatures were 29F (-2C). Kevin's work can be seen in the Leatherby Libraries, Chapman University, Orange, California, where his opisthobranch images are on permanent display. Other works have been exhibited at the Branford House, University of Connecticut; Scripps Institution of Oceanography; Monterey Bay Aquarium; Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach; City of Los Angeles (ELC); and other venues. And of course, Kevin continues to contribute marine images for numerous magazines, newspapers, academic literature and many dive related publications. To view more of Kevin's photography, visit diverkevin.com
Send Kevin email at diverkevin@gmail.com |
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