Chelidonura varians
Eliot, 1903
» If you find this species has been misidentified, please let us know
Below is comment from Dr. Bill Rudman, go to Sea Slug Forum to read more information
Dear Erwin,
Your photo reminds me of that great Olympic sport - 'synchronised swimming'!
This message follows on from your last which showed mating. In the close-up alongside I have slightly oversharpened your image so you can see that both animals have a mucous layer, filled with little white specks, wrapped around their heads. The white specks are eggs, and the animals are in the process of making their bubble-shaped egg mass which they anchor in the sand with a long mucous thread - which explains why you thought they were digging a hole. I have never seen a pair laying egg masses closely together like this, but I must say egg-laying it is not something I have seen often.
There is an earlier photo on the Forum of one laying an egg mass in an aquarium [message #9667] and photos of those of the related Philinopis taronga [message #11633] and Philinopsis cyanea [message #15333].
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
These Chelidonura varians are laying eggs on the sand
| Location: | Sangalaki, Indonesia |
| Photographer: | Erwin Kodiat |
| Camera: | Canon PowerShot A620 › View EXIF properties |
| Taken on: | May 28, 2007 |
| Viewed: | 603 times |
| Posted: | 1 year ago |
| Updated: | 8 months ago |
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Other photos of Chelidonura varians
Scientific Classification
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Subclass: | Opisthobranchia |
| Order: | Cephalaspidea |
| Family: | Aglajidae |
| Species: | Chelidonura varians |