Akera bullata

Rudolf Svensen This looks like a Akera bullata, but I have never seen this colour before. All other I have spotted have been dark brown with som red in it. Have any of you seen this coulour?

Ian Smith Yes, it's Akera. See http://www.conchsoc.org/spAccount/akera-bullata

Erling Svensen Selvsagt broder. Jeg har bilde med denne fargen

Penny Martin Akera Bullata........

Andy Horton This is amazing !

Cynthia D. Trowbridge wow! I have never seen one swim before.

Andy Horton http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/akerbull

Richard Lord Fabulous!

Andy Horton This animal (mollusc) is amusing!

Andy Horton MARINE LIFE NEWS BULLETIN TORPEDO (November 2011) Issue 180 ISSN 1464-8156 For technical reasons, TORPEDO is no longer being sent out by EMail. It is simply easier to view the bulletins on the web pages. Please find a copy of the bulletin at: http://www.glaucus.org.uk/Torpedo2011Nov.htm includes Marine Life News Featured Species: Akera bullata, a swimming sea slug Coastal Shore Topography: Coastal Erosion at Earthsea, Holderness In adition to the Marine Wildlife of the North-east Atlantic Ocean Yahoo Group New Group: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/Glaucus News reports and ID queries will also be found on the British Marine Life Study Society Facebook page: Facebook: British Marine Life Study Society http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=112629298750125

David Kipling Strangford Lough (NI), ~ 14m depth on muddy sediment slope in tidal lough. Spawn is about 3cm across, anchored at each end. Can anyone help with suggestions as to species that laid it?

Ian Smith Tangled wool effect rather resembles Akera bullata spawn, but I'm not sure if that is what it is. Are there Akera in the vicinity?

David Kipling One has been found intertidal, not sure how close to this site. Habitat sounds right for it and there's not much else that is big enough to have laid it!

Jan Light I've never seen this myself, but I do know what tangled wool looks like. This seems a good match!

David Kipling Erling, Bernard … this is that egg mass we speculated might be A. loveni. As you see it's spiral threads as opposed to a spiral in a single case.

George Brown This is very similar to what I recently found but the eggs were enclosed much like Erlings photo.

Bernard Picton Did you get a photo, George?

George Brown No I didn't Bernard. I was looking for my wet macro lens. :o(

Paula Lightfoot Thanks to everyone who sent photos for the Name a Species competition - some photos have been used on the Guardian website and others are on posters to promote the competition at events around the country. The competition is now 'live' so send in your suggested names for the 5 marine species and 5 terrestrial species! http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/series/name-a-species

Keith Hiscock I have e-mailed to ask that the "very small cushion star" description next to Akera bullata is 'pulled'.

Paula Lightfoot Oh dear! There was a last-minute decision to remove Asterina phylactica from the competition as it was suggested that it already had a common name - it looks as if the accompanying text has not been properly updated.

David Fenwick Snr Paula Akera bullata also has a published common name, the Soft bubble-shell (Shell Life by Edward Step)

David Fenwick Snr Similarly Elysia viridis is published in Step as the Green Elysia

Paula Lightfoot Aaargh! Thanks for letting me know, I've passed the information along. Loads of creatures were rejected on the grounds that they already had common names published somewhere, I guess these slipped through. I think they will stay in now that the competition has gone live, it's still a great way to raise public interest in biodiversity. Anyway 'green elysia' might be a correct translation of the Latin but the only one I saw in Yorkshire wasn't green at all but dark red! Let's see if the public can come up with something better! ;-)

David Fenwick Snr I wouldn't have noticed but have recently gone through certain molluscs with a fine toothed comb as I've just increased the number of species on my website to about 400. Have been looking at common names as many old ones for shells have somewhat gone out of fashion. My own opinion is that adding common names personalises a species and makes biodiversity and relationships between species somewhat easier for the masses to comprehend. Working out the common names from the scientific synonomy has been quite tasking at times.

Penny Martin Akra bullata swimming http://www.flickr.com/photos/65618324@N07/6208169487/

Harvey Tyler-Walters Curious to know that J.E. Morton and Norman Holme, once at the MBA, were the first to record <i>Akera bullata</I> in Plymouth. Even more curious to know that they affectionately referred to this species as the 'flying foreskin'. What a pity they were not able to enter the competition.