Pink Telja Nudibranch, Samla telja

Pink Telja Nudibranch, Samla telja. Underwater photographs taken in Zihuantanejo Bay, Guerrero, March 2020. Photographs courtesy of Ron Woheau, Zihuantanejo. Identification courtesy of Bob Hillis, Ivins, Utah.

Pink Telja Nudibranch, Samla telja. Underwater photographs taken in Zihuantanejo Bay, Guerrero, November 2021. Photographs and identification courtesy of Ron Woheau, Zihuantanejo.

Phylogeny:  The Pink Telja Nudibranch, Samla telja (Ev. Marcus & Er. Marcus, 1967), is a member of the Samlidae Family of Aeolid Nudibranch Sea Slugs. The genus Samla is one of two genera in this family, and there are seven species in this genus. They are also known as Pink Flabellina Nudibranchs.

Morphology: Pink Telja Nudibranchs are soft-bodied gastropods that lose their shells during their larval phase. They have long tapering bodies, with pointed tails. Their mantle forms a series of finger-like projections (cerata) along the entire back of the animal. These cerata function as gills, they assist with digestion, and they can incorporate stinging cells, from their prey, as a defense mechanism. Pink Telja Nudibranch have rhinophores (horn-like projections) on their heads. Rhinophores are chemosensory organs help them to locate food and potential mates. Nudibranchs lack complex eyes, but have photoreceptors that sense light and dark. The body is a translucent pinkish color covered with opaque white specks. They derive the pigments for their color from the food they eat. Their internal organs often show through and are dark reddish. The cerrata can be pink to brown in color. The rhinophores and cerrata are often tipped with white. Pink Telja Nudibranchs reach a maximum of 1.2 cm (0.5 inch) in length.

Habitat and Distribution:  Pink Telja Nudibranchs are a poorly studied and understood species. There is very little documentation regarding their habitat, distribution, or ecology. They are generally found on rocks and rock walls, subtidally, and to depths of 12 m (39 feet). They are a tropical Eastern Pacific species  that are found in Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean from Bahia Magdalena, Baja California Sur south to the Guatemalan border. They are found throughout the Sea of Cortez.

Diet:   There is very little documentation regarding the diet of the Pink Telja Nudibranch. Other species in this family feed on the polyps of hydroids.

Predators:  The predation of Pink Telja Nudibranchs is very poorly documented. Other similar species are preyed upon by other nudibranchs and occasionally by fish.

Reproduction: Pink Telja Nudibranchs are simultaneous hermaphrodites (having male and female reproductive organs). They reproduce sexually by hypodermic insemination. This occurs when both mating partners dart their penis toward each other to induce one to act as a male and the other as the female. The victorious one to penetrate the body wall is the dominant male. The eggs are laid as a mass. The eggs hatch into veliger larva and later metamorphose into adults.

Ecosystem Interactions:  Pink Telja Nudibranchs are a poorly studied and understood species. There is no documentation of their involvement in commensal, parasitic, or symbiotic relationships.

Human Interactions:  Pink Telja Nudibranchs have no direct impact on human activities. From a conservation perspective they have not been formally evaluated however they are fairly common with a relatively wide distribution and should be consider to be of Least Concern.

Synonyms:  Flabellina stohleri and Flabellina telja.