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These two nudibranchs, Facelina auriculata, were collected from the side of a fish quay pontoon in St. Peter Port harbour, Guernsey. They were placed in an aquarium for photography. As they met they embraced each other and stayed together for about a minute or so before moving off in separate directions. They were returned to St. Peter Port harbour after photography. Facelina auriculata union fish quay 090307 3-887 ©RLLord fishinfo@guernsey.net
My first visit of the year to the Belle Greve Bay shore was on 24th January 2008. Unexpectedly I didn't find any long-spined sea scorpion, Taurulus bubalis, eggs on the shore. I found only one bright red female sculpin with a swollen abdomen so spawning appears to be delayed this year. The sea temperature is about 0.5 C cooler than last year because of a cold spell during December. What I did find was this sea hare, Aplysia depilans. I turned over a boulder in a muddy and gravel bottomed shallow pool and found a brown gelatinous ball, which was larger than the size of my fist attached to its base. Initially I thought it could be a holdfast of the brown kelp, Furbelows, Saccorhiza polyschides, but it dawned on me that it was a sea hare. The common sea hare on our shore is Aplysia punctata but I realised this was different and it could only be Aplysia depilans because Aplysia fasciata, which was seen in the neighbouring island of Jersey recently, has parapodia that are not fused posteriorly. The last time I saw Aplysia depilans was when commercial fisherman Clive Brown found a 242 gram specimen floating dead in St. Peter Port harbour in 21 September 1998 - See http://www.glaucus.org.uk/news3.htm They certainly are much more beautiful and exotic when alive. I collected this individual from the base of the rock and placed it in a neighbouring tide pool with clear water for photography. I then took it home for film photography in an aquarium and to weigh it. It weighed 162 grams. I returned it to a tide pool on the Belle Greve Bay shore the following day when I took the last two images in this series of Aplysia depilans photos. File No. 240108 2491 ©RLLord fishinfo@guernsey.net
The sea hare, Apylsia depilans, glides along the gravel floor of a rock pool in Belle Greve Bay on Guernsey's east coast. This sea hare is about 20 cm long when fully extended and weighed 162 grams. Sea hares graze on seaweeds. Aplysia punctata is common on the Guernsey shore in the spring but this species, Aplysia depilans, is seen rarely. It is a more southern species found on the Brittany coast of France. File No. BG 250108 2507 ©RLLord fishinfo@guernsey.net
Aplysia deplians BG pool 250108 2503 smg
Two nudibranchs meet and mouth each other - Facelina auriculata on the left and Facelina bostoniensis on the right. They are gliding over erect bryozoan colonies and a Mogula ascidian on the lower edge and in the middle of the image. They were feeding and laying egg veils on the side of the pontoon attached to the fish quay in St. Peter Port harbour, Guernsey on the 8th June 2007. File No. 080607 11-917 ©RLLord fishinfo@guernsey.net
This image shows a close-up of the head of Facelina bostoniensis. The rhinophores are furnished with rings (annulate). The oral tentacles are very long and partially curled in this image. The brown digestive gland shows through the transparent cerata that cover the dorsal surface of the nudibranch. This species was feeding and laying egg veils on the side of a pontoon attached to the fish quay in St. Peter Port harbour, Guernsey on the 8th June 2007. File No. 080607 18-917 ©RLLord fishinfo@guernsey.net
This nudibranch, Facelina auriculata, was one of three species of sea slug I saw feeding on the side of a pontoon attached to the fish quay in St. Peter Port harbour, Guernsey on 8 June 2007. File No. 080607 20-917 ©RLLord fishinfo@guernsey.net
The nudibranch, Facelina auriculata, gliding over the invertebrate fauna growing on a pontoon attached to the fish quay in St. Peter Port harbour, Guernsey. Behind Facelina auriculata is the sea slug Facelina bostoniensis. Photographed on the 8 June 2007. File No. 080607 7-917 ©RLLord fishinfo@guernsey.net
On the 8 June 2007 I found three species of nudibranch including this species, Facelina annulicornis, gliding over the turf on the side of the pontoons attached to the fish quay in St. Peter Port harbour, Guernsey, Channel Islands. There were several different egg veils or egg deposits on various substrates but I couldn't tell which sea slug the various egg deposits belonged to. There is a Jassa amphipod to the left of the sea slug and a small caprellid amphipod just above the mouth of the slug. File No. 080607 21-917 ©RLLord fishinfo@guernsey.net
These two nudibranchs, Facelina auriculata, were collected from the side of a fish quay pontoon in St. Peter Port harbour, Guernsey. They were placed in an aquarium for photography. As they met they embraced each other and stayed together for about a minute or so before moving off in separate directions. They were returned to St. Peter Port harbour after photography.
Facelina auriculata union fish quay 090307 3-887
©RLLord
fishinfo@guernsey.net
These two nudibranchs, Facelina auriculata, were collected from the side of a fish quay pontoon in St. Peter Port harbour, Guernsey. They were placed in an aquarium for photography. As they met they embraced each other and stayed together for about a minute or so before moving off in separate directions. They were returned to St. Peter Port harbour after photography. Facelina auriculata union fish quay 090307 3-887 ©RLLord fishinfo@guernsey.net
These two nudibranchs, Facelina auriculata, were collected from the side of a fish quay pontoon in St. Peter Port harbour, Guernsey. They were placed in an aquarium for photography. As they met they embraced each other and stayed together for about a minute or so before moving off in separate directions. They were returned to St. Peter Port harbour after photography.
Facelina auriculata union fish quay 090307 3-887
©RLLord
fishinfo@guernsey.net
See photo in original gallery.
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