Home Guide to Opisthobranchs Nudibranchia Cladobranchia Aeolidioidea Algarvia alba

Algarvia alba

Algarvia alba García-Gómez & Cervera, 1989

Algarvia alba @ L'Escala by Enric Madrenas

Taxonomy
 

Superdomain

Biota  

 

Kingdom

Animalia  

 

Phylum

Mollusca  

 

Class

Gastropoda  

 

Subclass

Heterobranchia  

 

Infraclass

Euthyneura  

 

Subterclass

Ringipleura  

 

Superorder

Nudipleura  

 

Order

Nudibranchia  

 

Suborder

Cladobranchia  

 

Superfamily

Aeolidioidea  

 

Family

Facelinidae  

 

Genus

Algarvia  

 

Species

Algarvia alba  García-Gómez & Cervera, 1989

 
 Classification according to Bouchet et al. (2017)
Taxonomic source: World Register of Marine Species (AphiaID: 139904).
Description
The elongated body measures between 5 and 13 mm, it is coloured hyaline white with and opaque white pigment covering all the body but the foot, tips of cerata and head tentacles. Rhinophores are tappered and lamellated, with 5 oblique lamellae arched on the rear side. The two distal lamellae are incomplete on the rear side while the three basal ones are incomplete both on the front and rear sides. Rhinophores have a noticeable swelling over the upper lamella. Ahead of the rhinophores there is a considerably enlargement on the head, origin of the elongate oral tentacles. Most of the dorsal surface of the oral tentacles, a large portion of the cephalic enlargements surface, the upper part of rhinophores (including the two distal lamellae, but not the tips) and part of the anterior side of rhinophores are tinted in bright orange red. Cerata are arranged in single oblique rows, the first row with 5 cerata on each side, while the number of cerata decreases on successive rows towards the tail. Longest cerata (longer than the rhinophores and the oral tentacles) are the more dorsal ones. The foot is slightly wider than the body, it has a small notch on the anterior part while it ends in a pointed tail on the rear side. Foot corners are tentacular, about 2/3 of the length of the oral tentacles. The anus is located below the lower cerata between the 3rd and 4th ceratal rows on the right side of the body. Genitalia is also located on the right side, but at the pericardial level.

Biology
Specimens have been found on rocky bottoms with sand or silt, at depths from 13-15 meters. Due to its small size and scarcity, its food source and reproductive details are still unknown.

Etymology

  • Algarvia, dedicated to the region of Algarve (Southern Portugal), where this species was discovered.
  • Alba, from Latin “albus“, white, in reference to its white coloured body.

Distribution
This is a very scarce and elusive species. It has been found in only three locations so far: Sagres (Portugal) in May 1988 where it was first discovered, Getaria (Gipuzkoa, Spain) in July 2013 and at L’Escala (Girona, Spain) in February 2023.

Known georeferenced records of the species: Algarvia alba
Sources:
: OBIS
: GROC 2010-2011
: Enric Madrenas
: João Pedro Silva
: Bernard Picton
: GBIF.ORG		 : OPK
: VIMAR
: Manuel Ballesteros.
: M@re Nostrum
: Altres fonts
: Marine Regions

Abundance

    Western Mediterranean: ★☆☆☆☆
    Eastern Mediterranean: ☆☆☆☆☆
    Atlantic Ocean: ★☆☆☆☆
Month

This chart displays the monthly observation probability for Algarvia alba based on our own records.

More pictures

Algarvia alba @ L’Escala by Enric Madrenas
Algarvia alba @ L’Escala by Enric Madrenas
Algarvia alba, zenital view by Enric Madrenas
Algarvia alba, underside view by Enric Madrenas
Algarvia alba @ L’Escala by Enric Madrenas

Bibliography

    Ballesteros, M., E. Madrenas, and M. Pontes. 2023. OPK - Opistobranquis. (https://opistobranquis.info/).
    Calado, G., and V. Urgorri. 1998. Additions and new data on Portuguese Opisthobranchs. Bollettino Malacologico 35 (5- 8): 97-102.
    Cervera, J. L., G. Calado, C. Gavaia, M. A. E. Malaquías, J. Templado, M. Ballesteros, J. C. García-Gómez, and C. Megina. 2004. An annotated and updated checklist of the opisthobranchs (Mollusca: Gastropoda) from Spain and Portugal (including islands and archipelagos). Boletín Instituto Español de Oceanografía, 20 (1-4): 1-111. L.
    García-Gómez, J. C., and J. L. Cervera. 1989. A new species and genus of aeolid nudibranch (Mollusca, Gastropoda) from the Iberian coasts. Bulletin du Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle (section A Zoologie) (4) 11 (4): 733-741.
    García-Gómez, J. C., J. L. Cervera, F. J. García, J. A. Ortea, S. F. García-Martin, A. Medina, and L. P. Burnay. 1991. Resultados de la campaña internacional de biología marina “Algarve 88”: moluscos opistobranquios. Bollettino Malacologico 27 (5-9): 125-138.
    Long, S. J. 2006. Bibliography of Opisthobranchia 1554-2000. Bayside Books & Press, Tustin, CA, U.S.A. 672p.
    McDonald, G. 2009. Bibliographia Nudibranchia. 2nd Online Edition, Annotated. 1072 pp  Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz. (http://escholarship.org/uc/item/8115h0wz).
    Silva, J. P., M. Pola, J. L. Cervera, and G. Calado. 2015. First record of Algarvia alba García-Gómez and Cervera, 1989 (Gastropoda: Heterobranchia) outside the type locality. Marine Biodiversity. 1–2.
    Valdés, A., and V. Heros. 1998. The types of Recent and certain fossil opisthobranch molluscs in the Museum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris. Zoosystema 20(4):695-742.
    WoRMS Editorial Board. 2023. World Register of Marine Species. WoRMS. (http://www.marinespecies.org).

    Bibliography based on the works by Steve Long, 2006. Bibliography of Opisthobranchia 1554-2000 and Gary McDonald, 2009. Bibliographia Nudibranchia, with later updates from other resources.

Further reading

Cite this article as:

Pontes, Miquel (2023) "Algarvia alba" in OPK-Opistobranquis. Published: 26/02/2023. Accessed: 30/09/2023. Available at (https://opistobranquis.info/en/?p=37875)

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