Home Guide to Opisthobranchs Nudibranchia Cladobranchia Aeolidioidea Caloria elegans

Caloria elegans

Caloria elegans (Alder & Hancock, 1845)

Caloria elegans 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

Caloria  

 

Species

Caloria elegans  (Alder & Hancock, 1845)

 
 Classification according to Bouchet et al. (2017)
Taxonomic source: World Register of Marine Species (AphiaID: 139906).
Synonyms

  • Caloria maculata Trinchese, 1888
  • Eolis elegans Alder & Hancock, 1845 (original)

Description
The animals of this species have a very stylized translucent whitish body. The propodial tentacles are thin, translucent and iridescent-white on the leading edge. Oral tentacles are relatively long and of the same color of the propodials. The rhinophores are smooth, finely spotted in cream color and also iridescent-white coloured on the leading edge. In certain cases there are small papillae in certain specimens’ rhinophores. The eyes are clearly visible at the base of the rhinophores. The cerata 7-8 groups are tightly layed on the dorsum almost without gaps, so the back seems to have an homogeneous cover. The digestive gland extends inside the cerata, coloring them usually in yellow or cream tones, but some specimens have colorless cerata. However, all cerata have a very dark brown or black spot near the tip. The apex of the cerata is semitransparent, so with the aid of a binocular microscope it is possible to observe the hepatic duct and the apical cnidosac. Longer cerata are the most internal of each group, are curved and intersect with the cerata from the opposite side. It is not uncommon to observe malformations in some animals, such as bifurcated or trifurcated propodials tentacles and forked cerata near the apex. The foot is semitransparent and the tail is narrow with a middle-dorsal whitish line.

Biology
The Atlantic specimens can reach 34mm but in the Mediterranean they hardly make 20mm. They are very active, and extend their cerata resembling to an anemone when disturbed. C.elegans is usually located in rocky walls with algae and hydrarians abundance (Eudendrium, Obelia, Aglaophenia, Tubularia, Campanularia, Halecium, Plumularia) than it can feed on. Schmekel cites this species feeding on Perigonimus (now the genus Bougainvillia, athecate hydrozoan). Very little is known of the biology of this species.

Etymology

  • Caloria, in honor to the professor Luigi Calori (1807-1896), President of the Royal Academy of Sciences at Bologna (Italy).
  • Elegans = “elegant” in Latin.

Distribution
It is a widespread species in both European Atlantic and Mediterranean waters. It has also been recorded in the Canary Islands, Madeira and the Açores. In the Iberian Peninsula it has been observed in the Portuguese coast and along all the Mediterranean coasts, also in the Balearic islands. In Catalonia it appears sporadically in many different localities of the Costa Brava, also in the Maresme and in the Southern coast of Tarragona.

Known georeferenced records of the species: Caloria elegans
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

Similar species
Facelina quatrefagesi, rinophores lamellated on the rear side, bright orange coloured cerata. Historically confused.

Abundance

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

This chart displays the monthly observation probability for Caloria elegans based on our own records.

Videos

 

More pictures

Caloria elegans by Enric Madrenas
Caloria elegans by Enric Madrenas
Caloria elegans by Enric Madrenas
Caloria elegans by Enric Madrenas
Caloria elegans by Enric Madrenas
Caloria elegans by Enric Madrenas
Caloria elegans by Enric Madrenas
Caloria elegans @ Tarifa by Manuel Martínez Chacón
Caloria elegans @ Ammouliani island, Halkidiki, Greece 27-03-2014 by Yiannis Iliopoulos
Caloria elegans by Miquel Pontes
Caloria elegans by Miquel Pontes
Caloria elegans by Miquel Pontes
Caloria elegans by Miquel Pontes
Caloria elegans @ France by Pascal Girard
Caloria elegans @ France by Pascal Girard
Caloria elegans @ Granada por Luis Sánchez Tocino

Bibliography

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    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:

Ballesteros, M., Madrenas, E. & Pontes, M. (2012-2025) "Caloria elegans" in OPK-Opistobranquis. Published: 17/05/2012. Accessed: 03/02/2025. Available at (https://opistobranquis.info/en/?p=605)