The ecological and anatomy of a new species of aeolid opisthobranch mollusc; a predator of the scleractinian coral Porites

A new species of aeolid opisthobranch (family Tergipedidae) is described from Tanzania. It lives and feeds on the scleractinian coral Porites somaliensis. Studies on its development show that it can reach sexual maturity three weeks after hatching. The larval stage is extremely abbreviated; the veliger settles ten minutes after hatching, and within ninety minutes of hatching has assumed a slug-like form.