Flustra foliacea

Klas Malmberg Aquatilis Found this Crimora papillata last year in Swedish waters and it´s new by us. Has anybody found it i Norway?

Erling Svensen .... and the sice? What does it eat? I hve never seen it (as I know).

João Pedro Silva Not very common here but we see it now and then. Last summer in Algarve there were lots of them.

Claire Goodwin It's normally on the bryozoans Chartella papyracea, Flustra foliacea or Securiflustra securifrons. It's a southern species (from Med but I'm not certain of its Northern limits - it is restricted to south and west of Britain and Ireland) but might be increasing with climate change - one of a few things that are increasing in abundance/widening distribution in our study area (Northern Ireland). I'd think your Swedish record would be interesting Klas - but maybe other people on here can say if it is a new record.

Klas Malmberg Aquatilis Size around 2 cm and it was feeding on Flustra. Found it on "Väderöarna", 25 meters, at an exposed area. Cheching whith Natural history museums has said that this was the first finding in Sweden, but I wouldn´t be surprised if some underwaterphotographer has pictures of it. And if we see it here I think it´s likely to be around Norway too.

Bernard Picton Deirdre, I was very excited when I first found it in the west coast of Ireland so it's interesting to hear that you have it commonly in Dublin Bay. When we did the BioMar survey of Ireland (1993-96) we recorded it from scattered sites all round the west coast. As Claire says we've found it quite frequently in Northern Ireland in the last 7 years, but in the 1980's we only found it once, so I think it has become more common. Jim Anderson found it in Scotland in 2008 (Sea Slug Forum), but Sweden is quite a surprise for me, Klas.

João Pedro Silva Not sure if this photo is useful to identify the bryozoan it's feeding on: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jpsilva1971/5830668102/

João Pedro Silva Could someone please help me on identifying this bryozoan? Sorry for the small detail photo but was using a 100mm lens with diopters and the whole colony was just too large (it covered an area of ~30cm in diameter). Shot yesterday in Sesimbra, Portugal.

Sarah Bowen Flustra foliacea? As you say, difficult with such a small amount of it in view.

João Pedro Silva It was far more branched than Flustra foliacea. Each branch was 1cm at most at the top.

Sarah Bowen Okay, Securiflustra then? But the ends I can see don't look square enough for that. It's supposed to look as though it's been trimmed with a pair of scissors at the tops.

João Pedro Silva Securiflustra was only reported once in Portugal. I was suggested Chartella papyracea.