Spotted Lagoon Aeolid
Tenellia adspersa
Summary 4
Tenellia adspersa, common name the miniature aeolis, is a species of very small sea slug, an aolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Tergipedidae.
Description 5
The color of this nudibranch is generally pale yellow to light brown, with black speckles. The length is up to 8 mm.
Distribution 5
The indigenous distribution of Tenellia adspersa is the Northeastern Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea and Caspian Sea.
This species is fully protected in the United Kingdom under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 since 1992.
The species is thought to be introduced in:
Ecology 5
This small sea slug is found amongst hydroids and sometimes crawling along the substrate in coastal intertidal and shallow sublittoral zones, and is also found in estuaries. It prefers small rocks to sea grass bottoms, and occurs on man-made substrates as well. It prefers sheltered, low wave action waters.
Adults produce up to 100 eggs. Larvae are pelagic. They are sexually mature at 20 days old. Life span is less than one year usually.
This sea slug is known to rapidly devour hydroid colonies. Tenellia adspersa is a carnivore feeding primarily on hydroids such as Cordylophora caspia.
Feeding habits 5
This sea slug is known to rapidly devour hydroid colonies. Tenellia adspersa is a carnivore feeding primarily on hydroids such as Cordylophora caspia.
Habitat 5
This small sea slug is found amongst hydroids and sometimes crawling along the substrate in coastal intertidal and shallow sublittoral zones, and is also found in estuaries. It prefers small rocks to sea grass bottoms, and occurs on man-made substrates as well. It prefers sheltered, low wave action waters.
Life cycle 5
Adults produce up to 100 eggs. Larvae are pelagic. They are sexually mature at 20 days old. Life span is less than one year usually.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Robin Gwen Agarwal, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Robin Gwen Agarwal
- (c) National Museums Northern Ireland and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://www.habitas.org.uk/marinelife/mollusca/tenads.jpg
- USGS, no known copyright restrictions (public domain), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tenellia_adspersa.jpg
- Adapted by Robin Gwen Agarwal from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenellia_adspersa
- (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenellia_adspersa
More Info
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