ИСТИНА

Eubranchus rupium is a common nudibranch species in the White Sea. The representatives of the species are drill-feeders and feed on colonial hydroids of genus Obelia. E. rupium has a planktonic larva – veliger, which settle on the Obelia colony, then metamorphose. The juveniles appeared right after metamorphosis switch to the drilling feeding mode, which is characteristic for adult individuals. Here we study the morphology of the buccal complex in different post-larval stages of ontogenetic development of Eubranchus rupium. According to our data, first post-larval juvenile stage has similar groups of buccal muscles, and the radula and the jaws of similar morphology as the adult individuals. During body growth the size of buccal complex proportionally increases. The study was funded by RFBR according to the research project № 18-34-00251.