Summary
The sub-antarctic limpet Nacella edgari (Powell) (Patellidae) has avoidance and escape responses to the sea star Anasterias perrieri (Smith) (Asteriidae) in a kelp forest and in the laboratory. Nacella edgari was preyed upon in the field by A. perrieri, but frequency of capture was low, suggesting the effectiveness of defensive behaviors. Both avoidance and escape responses by the limpet consisted of extension and waving of the pallial tentacles, mushrooming and rotation of the shell and flight. However, escape responses were characterized by greatly intensified rotation of the shell through a horizontal plane. This study extends the evaluation of defensive responses in gastropods to a species which occurs in the southern Indian Ocean.
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McClintock, J.B. Avoidance and escape responses of the sub-antarctic limpet Nacella edgari (Powell) (Mollusca: Gastropoda) to the sea star Anasterias perrieri (Smith) (Echinodermata: Asteroidea). Polar Biol 4, 95–98 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00442906
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00442906