''Paraflabellina ischitana'' is a
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
of
sea slug
Sea slug is a common name for some Marine biology, marine invertebrates with varying levels of resemblance to terrestrial Slug, slugs. Most creatures known as sea slugs are gastropods, i.e. they are Sea snail, sea snails (marine gastropod moll ...
, an aeolid
nudibranch
Nudibranchs () are a group of soft-bodied marine gastropod molluscs, belonging to the order Nudibranchia, that shed their shells after their larval stage. They are noted for their often extraordinary colours and striking forms, and they have b ...
, a
marine gastropod
Gastropods (), commonly known as slugs and snails, belong to a large Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda ().
This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, freshwater, and fro ...
mollusk
Mollusca is a phylum of protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum after Arthropoda. The ...
in the family
Flabellinidae.
Etymology
The name ''ischitana'' means from
Ischia
Ischia ( , , ) is a volcanic island in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It lies at the northern end of the Gulf of Naples, about from the city of Naples. It is the largest of the Phlegrean Islands. Although inhabited since the Bronze Age, as a Ancient G ...
, the island from where this nudibranch was first named.
[
]
Distribution
This species is found in Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...
waters around Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
in such locations as Costa Brava
The Costa Brava (; ; "Wild Coast" or "Rough Coast") is a coastal region of Catalonia in northeastern Spain. Sources differ on the exact definition of the Costa Brava. Usually it can be regarded as stretching from the town of Blanes, northeas ...
, and in the Tyrrhenian Sea
The Tyrrhenian Sea (, ; or ) , , , , is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenians, Tyrrhenian people identified with the Etruscans of Italy.
Geography
The sea is bounded by the islands of C ...
, especially around Ischia
Ischia ( , , ) is a volcanic island in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It lies at the northern end of the Gulf of Naples, about from the city of Naples. It is the largest of the Phlegrean Islands. Although inhabited since the Bronze Age, as a Ancient G ...
(hence the species Latin name).[Sylvain Le Bris, Michel Péa]
« Flabellina ischitana Hirano & Thompson, 1990 »
/ref>
Habitat
''Paraflabellina ischitana'' usually can be found in shallow water, but it can also reach depths of 35 m.[
]
Description
This species can grow to a length of approximately 4 cm and is mostly purple-violet in colour. It has opaque white-tipped certa, rhinophores, and oral tentacles. The rhinophores are annulate.[ Due to the somewhat transparent skin of the ceras, the branches of the digestive gland are visible, and appear as red-orange.][Manuel Ballesteros, Enric Madrenas, Miquel Pontes et al]
«Flabellina ischitana (Hirano & Thompson, 1990)»
/ref>
Similar species
''Paraflabellina ischitana'' is often confused with ''Flabellina affinis
''Flabellina affinis'' is a species of sea slug within the clade of aeolid nudibranch; a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Flabellinidae.
Distribution
This species is found in depths to 50 m in European waters in the Atlantic Ocean from P ...
'', but can be distinguished as follows:[
*''Paraflabellina ischitana'': the ceratal surface has no purple-violet colouration and is translucent;
*''Flabellina affinis'': the digestive gland is not visible as the area beneath the subapical white ring is opaque;
''Paraflabellina ischitana'' is also similar to '' Edmundsella pedata'', but they can be distinguished on the basis of their rhinophores:][Nembro]
/ref>
*''Paraflabellina ischitana'' has annulate rhinophore
*''Edmundsella pedata'' has smooth or papillate rhinophores
Biology
This nudibranch likely eats hydroids
Hydroids are a life stage for most animals of the class Hydrozoa, small predators related to jellyfish.
Some hydroids such as the freshwater '' Hydra'' are solitary, with the polyp attached directly to the substrate. When these produce buds, ...
of the genus ''Eudendrium
''Eudendrium'' is a large genus of hydroids (Hydrozoa), one of two in the family Eudendriidae. These animals are marine cnidarias in the family Eudendriidae
Eudendriidae is a taxonomic family of hydroids (Hydrozoa). The family contains aro ...
'' (''Eudendrium racemosum
''Eudendrium racemosum'' is a marine species of cnidaria, a hydroid (Hydrozoa) in the family Eudendriidae
Eudendriidae is a taxonomic family of hydroids (Hydrozoa). The family contains around 85 species
A species () is often defined as ...
'' and '' Eudendrium glomeratum'') as its main food source.[ The egg case is whitish or reddish,][
]
Bibliography
* Egidio Trainito, Nudibranchi del Mediterraneo. Guida al riconoscimento dei molluschi opistobranchi, 2005ª ed., Milano, Il Castello, 2005, .
* Gary R. McDonald, University of California Santa Cruz - Nudibranch Systematic Index, University of California Santa Cruz - Institute of Marine Sciences
References
External links
*
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5456554
Flabellinidae
Gastropods described in 1990