You are here
Sacoglossa
Elysia tuca Ev. Marcus and Er. Marcus, 1967
Nomenclature
-
Family: PlakobranchidaeGenus: Elysia
SUMMARY
"Body dark green with irregular iridescent white patches on parapodial margin and on head between rhinophores; parapodia smooth, held tightly rolled against midline of body, with distinct mid-length notch forming a ventilatory "chimney". Length to 15 mm."
"This species is easily separable from all other Caribbean species by the parapodial notch, coloration, diet, and posture. Verrill's description notes the distinctive white patch between the rhinophores, but erroneously identified the species as Tridachia crispata. This has led to some confusion that Tridachia crispata occurs in Bermuda; it apparently does not. This also explains why E. tuca, which is ubiquitous throughout the Caribbean, has not been previously reported from Bermuda." (Clark, 1984 Nautilus 98(2), p. 90)
"On the back of the head there is a white cross-shaped figure, on the neck a white triangle. The edges of the parapodia are white or beige, there is often a dark spot in the middle on both edges....The renopericardiac prominence varies in shape from round to elongate and may be almost half of the length of the body. There is always only one principle vessel on either side. Their anterior and posterior branches collect a number of simple short vessels, which stand out as in [E.] serca (Fig. 40). The pharynx has no muscular inglovies. The teeth are slender and pointed sometimes coarsely serrulate, sometimes with fine denticles, sometimes smooth. The strongly muscular esophageal pouch is in some animals stretched, making part of the esophageal wall. The penis (Fig. 55) is about 1 mm long and 0.15-0.3 mm wide...near its tips it diminishes suddenly and ends with a narrow cylindrical section in which a 0.06 mm long cuticular tube with several folds standing out is lodged. Once two spermlytic vesicles were found in a 6-mm slug" (Marcus, 1980).