Flabellina ischitana

Flabellina ischitana
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
(unranked): clade Heterobranchia

clade Euthyneura
clade Nudipleura
clade Nudibranchia
clade Dexiarchia
clade Cladobranchia
clade Aeolidida

Superfamily: Flabellinoidea
Family: Flabellinidae
Genus: Flabellina
Species: F. ischitana
Binomial name
Flabellina ischitana
Hirano & Thompson, 1990[1]
Synonyms

Coryphella pedata (Montagu, 1815)

Flabellina ischitana is a species of sea slug, an aolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Flabellinidae.[2]

Etymology

The genus name Flabellina is a diminutive of Latin Flabellum, meaning fan, while the genus name ischitana mean from Ischia, the island from where this nudibranch was first named.[3]

Distribution

Flabellina ischitana from Elba

This species is found in Mediterranean waters around Spain in such locations as Costa Brava,[4] and in the Tyrrhenian Sea, especially around Ischia (hence the species Latin name).[3][5][6]

Habitat

Flabellina ischitana usually can be found in shallow water, but it can also reach depths of 35 m.[3]

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.[7] Due to the somewhat transparent skin of the ceras, the branches of the digestive gland are visible, and appear as red-orange.[3][5][6][8][9]

Similar species

Flabellina ischitana is often confused with Flabellina affinis, but can be distinguished as follows:[3][6]

Flabellina ischitana is also similar to Flabellina pedata, but they can be distinguished on the basis of their rhinophores:[7]

Biology

This nudibranch likely eats hydroids of the genus Eudendrium (Eudendrium racemosum and Eudendrium glomeratum) as its main food source.[3][5][8]

Like other nudibranchs, this species is hermaphrodite. Mating occurs in late printemps.[6] The egg case is whitish or reddish,[8] with thousands of eggs of about 70 microns. The nudibranch places the egg case on the branches of hydrozoa.[6]

Bibliography

References

  1. "Photo of Flabellina ischitana - # - Mollusc biology". European Marine Life. Retrieved 2012-07-05.
  2. "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Flabellina ischitana Hirano & Thompson, 1990". Marinespecies.org. 2004-12-21. Retrieved 2012-06-04.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Manuel Ballesteros, Enric Madrenas, Miquel Pontes et al.,«Flabellina ischitana (Hirano & Thompson, 1990)»
  4. "Mer et littoral - photographie de Flabellina ischitana - # - Biologie des Mollusques". Mer-littoral.org. 2007-07-01. Retrieved 2012-07-05.
  5. 1 2 3 Christian COUDRE. "Flabelline d'Ischia, Flabellina ischitana". Cotebleue.org. Retrieved 2012-07-05.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Sylvain Le Bris, Michel Péan « Flabellina ischitana Hirano & Thompson, 1990 »
  7. 1 2 Nembro
  8. 1 2 3 "Flabellina ischitana | Animalandia". Herramientas.educa.madrid.org. Retrieved 2012-07-05.
  9. Rudman, W.B. "Flabellina ischitana". The Sea Slug Forum. Retrieved 2012-07-05.


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