A sea slug (Hero formosa)

Distribution data supplied by the Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS). To interrogate UK data visit the NBN Atlas.Map Help

Summary

Description

A beautiful and delicate species of sea slug with a single row of bushy, branched appendages down each side of the body and across the front of the head. It can grow up to 38 mm in length and is pale pinkish-brown in colour with white spots scattered down the body and a white centre line along the back. The head bears a pair of greatly enlarged curved oral tentacles.

Recorded distribution in Britain and Ireland

Most recent records are from the Isle of Man, the west coast of Scotland, near Oban and the Rockall Trough.

Global distribution

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Habitat

Found on wrecks and muddy sand habitats with scattered shell and rocks. Has a considerable depth range.

Depth range

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Identifying features

  • Branching ceratal processes along sides of body and across front.
  • White centre line down middle of back.
  • Large propodial tentacles at the front of the foot.
  • Smooth rhinophores with white tips lie behind the most anterior pair of cerata.
  • Anal papilla is lateral, on right side.

Additional information

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Listed by

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Further information sources

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Bibliography

  1. Howson, C.M. & Picton, B.E., 1997. The species directory of the marine fauna and flora of the British Isles and surrounding seas. Belfast: Ulster Museum. [Ulster Museum publication, no. 276.]

  2. JNCC (Joint Nature Conservation Committee), 1999. Marine Environment Resource Mapping And Information Database (MERMAID): Marine Nature Conservation Review Survey Database. [on-line] http://www.jncc.gov.uk/mermaid

  3. Picton, B. E. & Morrow, C.C., 1994. A Field Guide to the Nudibranchs of the British Isles. London: Immel Publishing Ltd.

  4. Picton, B.E. & Costello, M.J., 1998. BioMar biotope viewer: a guide to marine habitats, fauna and flora of Britain and Ireland. [CD-ROM] Environmental Sciences Unit, Trinity College, Dublin.

  5. Thompson, T. E. & Brown, G. H., 1976. British Opisthobranch Molluscs. London: Academic Press. [Synopses of the British Fauna, no. 8.]

Datasets

  1. Conchological Society of Great Britain & Ireland, 2023. Mollusc (marine) records for Great Britain and Ireland. Occurrence dataset: https://doi.org/10.15468/aurwcz accessed via GBIF.org on 2024-09-27.

  2. NBN (National Biodiversity Network) Atlas. Available from: https://www.nbnatlas.org.

  3. OBIS (Ocean Biodiversity Information System),  2024. Global map of species distribution using gridded data. Available from: Ocean Biogeographic Information System. www.iobis.org. Accessed: 2024-11-23

Citation

This review can be cited as:

Wilson, E. 2005. Hero formosa A sea slug. In Tyler-Walters H. and Hiscock K. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Reviews, [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 23-11-2024]. Available from: https://www.marlin.ac.uk/species/detail/1256

Last Updated: 31/10/2005