Natural feeding habits of two nudibranchs: Kalinga ornata and Plocamopherus tilesii (Nudibranchia: Doridacea: Polyceridae)

ABSTRACT

Stomach contents of Kalinga ornata and Plocamopherus tilesii (Nudibranchia: Doridacea: Polyceridae) were investigated using a light microscope to reveal their natural diets. Ossicles of ophiuroids were found in the stomachs of four out of 29 specimens of K. ornata. In contrast, both zooecia of Bryozoa and ossicles of ophiuroids were found in the stomachs of P. tilesii specimens. This is only the second record of a nudibranch species feeding on ophiuroids.

KEYWORDS:

• Bryozoa
• feeding behaviour
• Gastropoda
• Ophiuroidea
• Ossicles
• ophiuroids-feeding
• stomach contents
• zooeciums

Acknowledgements

I thank Dr Ryuta Yoshida (University of the Ryukyus), Dr Mamiko Hirose (MCRC), Dr Yuzo Ota (Tottori Prefectural Museum), Dr Junji Okuno (Coastal Branch of Natural History Museum and Institute, Chiba), Ms Mayako Ohtsuka (Nagasaki Penguin Aquarium), and the staff of MMBS for providing animals and photos. I am deeply grateful to Dr Toshihiko Fujita (National Museum of Nature and Science) and Dr Masato Hirose (The University of Tokyo) for identification of ophiuroids and bryozoans, respectively. I thank Mr Takuro Nakamura (Diving Service Umidayori) for providing information. I also thank Dr Bill Rudman (The Australian Museum) for constructive comments and valuable suggestions. I thank Dr Euichi Hirose (University of the Ryukyus) for his encouragement. I would also like to thank Enago (www.enago.jp) for the English language review.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

This study was partly supported by Japanese Association for Marine Biology (JAMBIO).