Home Guide to Opisthobranchs Nudibranchia Cladobranchia Aeolidioidea Glaucus atlanticus

Glaucus atlanticus

Glaucus atlanticus Forster, 1777

Glaucus atlanticus @ Boynton Beach, Florida, USA 28-01-2018 by Ariane Dimitris

Taxonomy
 

Superdomain

Biota  

 

Kingdom

Animalia  

 

Phylum

Mollusca  

 

Class

Gastropoda  

 

Subclass

Heterobranchia  

 

Infraclass

Euthyneura  

 

Subterclass

Ringipleura  

 

Superorder

Nudipleura  

 

Order

Nudibranchia  

 

Suborder

Cladobranchia  

 

Superfamily

Aeolidioidea  

 

Family

Glaucidae  

 

Genus

Glaucus  

 

Species

Glaucus atlanticus  Forster, 1777

 
 Classification according to Bouchet et al. (2017)
Taxonomic source: World Register of Marine Species (AphiaID: 140022).
Taxonomic note: The genus Glaucus was established in 1777 by the British naturalist Johann Reinhold Forster. He described the genus based on a number of specimens of Glaucus atlanticus collected during the second voyage of James Cook aboard the HMS Resolution. In 1848, the German naturalist Johannes Gistel proposed the name Dadone to Glaucus, but it later deemed unnecessary and today it is considered invalid. Traditionally it was considered that the genus Glaucus had only two species Glaucus atlanticus and Glaucus marginatus, but in the work of Churchill et al. (2014) an anatomical and molecular study of different species of the genus Glaucus -unexpectedly- revealed the presence of a species complex. Glaucus Atlanticus was the only species found in the Atlantic Ocean, although it is also present throughout the Indo-Pacific, but under the name of Glaucus marginatus four separate species (referred to informally as the clade ‘marginatus’) were discovered. There are three species (Glaucus marginatus, Glaucus thompsoni and Glaucus mcfarlanei) cited in the North Pacific Gyre while there is a single species (Glaucus marginatus) cited in the South Pacific Gyre and the Indian Ocean. In addition, in the South Pacific there is another species Glaucus bennettae. Specimens of Glaucus atlanticus show some genetic differences in their different areas of distribution, but they are small, so it is considered to be a single species.

Synonyms

  • Doris radiata Gmelin, 1791
  • Glaucus distichoicus d’Orbigny, 1837
  • Glaucus flagellum Blumenblach, 1803
  • Glaucus hexapterigius Cuvier, 1805
  • Glaucus lineatus Reinhardt & Bergh, 1864
  • Glaucus longicirrhus Reinhardt & Bergh, 1864

Description
Glaucus atlanticus can reach up to 30 mm in length. The body elongated, with the widest area right behind the head, and finishing in a pointed tail. The overall color is silver, with the rhinophores, oral tentacles and the lower edge of the cerata colored electric blue. The dorsum varies from dark brown to blue, while the foot is silvery in its central area, flanked by bands of light blue color that join in the head and near the tip of the tail. The head is short and has two simple, smooth and very short tentacles, widely separated. The smooth rhinophores are located very low on the sides of the head. Cerata are laid in six groups, the first two, near the head, are pedunculated (growing of a short common base), while the four rear are sessile (growing directly from the body side). The cerata are long and have a conical shape, are inserted into each group in a single series, and the most dorsal cerata is the longest. Each cerata ends in a cnidosac storing active stinging cells from their preys as a defense mechanism, and is easily autotomizable. The foot is wide and well developed, has a rounded anterior end and extends to the tip of the tail on the back. The anus is located on the right side, between the second and third group of cerata, while the renal pore is located at the same level but slightly ahead of the second group of cerata.

Biology
It feeds on other pelagic creatures to which it can swim with slow swimming movements performed with the cerata. Among their preys are Velella velella, Porpita porpita and Janthina janthina, also the stinging siphonophore Physalia physalis (according to Miller, 1974), also known as “Portuguese man o’war”. It has the ability to sequester and store the active cnidarian nematocysts in its own tissues, as a protection against predators. The manipulation of these animals by humans often results in painful and potentially dangerous stings, as they concentrate the poisonous nematocysts in the cnidosacs, so their sting is more powerful than the cnidarian’s. It has been documented that in captivity it may attack other specimens of the same species if there is no other food. Like almost all heterobranchs, it is hermaphroditic, each individual having both male and female reproductive organs, but unlike most sea slugs which mate by joining their right side, this species mates by joining their ventral sides (Ross & Quetin, 1990). After mating both individuals produce egg masses formed by straight threads of white eggs up to 17.5 mm long that float freely in the water (Ross and Quetin, 1990). These authors also reported that freshly collected individuals produced 4-6 egg strings per hour with 36-96 eggs per string and a total of 3.300-8.900 eggs per day. Being a pelagic animal (that lives on the water surface), it floats upside down, with the foot towards the surface, thanks to an air bubble in its stomach that gulps periodically and the water surface tension on its many cerata (Miller, 1974). It is carried away by winds and ocean currents. Although they are animals that live in open ocean water, sometimes they strand on the beaches by the thousands, because of the action of wind, currents and waves.

Etymology

  • Glaucus, from ancient Greek “Γλαῦκος”, was a Greek prophetic sea-god, born mortal, became immortal after eating a magical herb. It was believed that he came to the rescue of sailors and fishermen in storms, having once been one himself. Also a Greek name meaning “greyish blue” or “bluish green” and “glimmering”.
  • Atlanticus, Latin form of the Greek “Atlantikos”, meaning “of Atlas”, in reference to Mount Atlas in Mauritania. Atlantic is the name for the “sea off the west coast of Africa”, applied to the whole ocean since c. 1600.

Distribution
It lives in temperate and tropical seas of all the world’s oceans. It has been found in the eastern and southern coast of Africa, in European waters, the east coast of Australia, New Zealand, Hawai’i and Mozambique. It has also been cited in the Gulf of Aden (Thompson & McFarlane, 2008), in Andhra Pradesh, in the Bay of Bengal and on the coast of Tamil Nadu (India) (Srinivasulu et al. 2012), also in Bermuda (Johnston Barnes, O. 01/25/2016). There are recent reports of its presence in the Humboldt Current, off the coast of Peru (Uribe et al., 2013). Also in the Canary islands [D’Orbigny (1839), Pérez et al. (1990), Pérez Sánchez, Bacallado and Ortea (1991), Moro et al. (1995, 2003), Ortea et al. (2001)], Madeira [Bergh (1899)] and Azores [Simroth (1888), Bergh (1899), Wirtz (1998), Malaquias (2001), Wirtz and Debelius (2003)] in the NE Atlantic, and in the Balearic islands [Hidalgo (1916), Bofill and Aguilar-Amat (1924)] in the Mediterranean Sea.

Known georeferenced records of the species: Glaucus atlanticus
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 Glaucus atlanticus based on our own records.

Videos

 

More pictures

Glaucus atlanticus @ Ilha do Príncipe (São Tomé e Príncipe) 23-09-2016 by Aketza Herrero
Glaucus atlanticus ~15mm with Janthina janthina sea snail @ Gran Canaria, Spain by Sabina López
Glaucus atlanticus @ Gran Canaria, Spain 12.03.2021 by Sabina López

Bibliography

    Abbott, R. T. 1954. American seashells. With illus. by Frederick M. Bayer. Van Nostrand.
    Abbott, R. T. 1974. American seashells. The marine mollusca of the Atlantic and Pacific coast of North America. Van Nostrand, New York. 663 pp., 24 pls. [October 1974].
    Adams, J. n.d. A contribution to the biology and postlarval development of the Sargassum Fish,  Histrio histrio (Linnaeus), with a discussion of the Sargassum complex. Bulletin of Marine Science of  the Gulf & Caribbean 10(1):55-82.
    Adams, A. A., and H. Adams. 1853. The genera of recent Mollusca, arranged according to their organization. London (van Voorst): pp.1-256, pls 1-32, 1853; 257-484, pls 33-60, 1854 (1); 1-92, pls 61-72, 1854; 93-284, pls 73-96, 1855; 285-412, pls 97-112, 1856; 413-540, pls 113-128, 1857; 541-661, pls 129-138, 1858 (2). vol 2; pp 45-78 Oct.-Nov. 1854; pp 97-99 Jan 1855; p 632-635 Nov 1858; pls. 62-68, 137, fig. 14; pl 138, fig. 1.
    Alder, J., and A. Hancock. 1864. Notice of a collection of nudibranchiate Mollusca made in India by Walter Elliot Esq. with descriptions of several new genera and species. Transactions of the Zoological Society of London 5 (3-4): 113-147.
    Apstein, C. 1905. Tierleben der Hochsee, Reisebegleiter fur Seefahrer. 120 pp Verlag von Lipsius & Tischer, Kiel, Leipzig, Tsingtau.
    Austin, W. C. 1985. An annotated checklist of the marine invertebrates in the cold temperate northeast Pacific. 3 vols., xiv + 682 pp Khoyatan Marine Laboratory.
    Ballesteros, M. 1980. Contribución al conocimientos de los Sacoglosos y Nudibranquios (Mollusca: Opisthobranchia). Estudio anatómico, sistemático y faunístico de las especies del mediterráneo español. Tesis Doctoral.
    Ballesteros, M., M. Pontes, and E. Madrenas. 2019. Els nudibranquis del mar català. Brau Edicions, Figueres.
    Ballesteros, M., E. Madrenas, and M. Pontes. 2023. OPK - Opistobranquis. (https://opistobranquis.info/).
    Barnard, K. H. 1927. South African nudibranch mollusca, with descriptions of new species, and a note on some specimens from Tristan d’Acunha. Annals of the South African Museum 25(1): 171-215, pl. 19-20.
    Barnard, K. H. 1974. Contributions to the knowledge of South African Marine Mollusca. Part VII. Revised fauna list. Annals of the South African Museum, 4 663-781.
    Basedow, H., and C. Hedley. 1905. South Australian nudibranchs, and an enumeration of the known Australian species. Transactions, Proceedings & Reports of the Royal Philosophical Society of South Australia 29: 134-160, pls. 1-12.
    Bedulli, D., R. Cattaneo-Vietti, R. Chemello, F. Ghisotti, and F. Giovine. 1995. Gastropoda Opisthobranchia, Divasibranchia, Gymnomorpha, Fascicolo 15, pp. 1-23.  In: A. Minelli, A. Ruffo, & S. La Posta (Eds.). Checklist delle specie fauna italiana, Checklist delle specie della Fauna Italiana. Calderini, Bologna.
    Behrens, D. W., and A. Hermosillo. 2005. Eastern Pacific nudibranchs : a guide of the opisthobranchs from Alaska to Central America. Sea Challengers, Monterey, CA.
    Behrens, D. W., C. Petrinos, and C. Schrurs. 2005. Nudibranch behavior. New World Publications, Jacksonville, Fla.
    Benkendorff, K. 1999. Bioactive molluscan resources and their conservation: biological and  chemical studies on the egg masses of marine molluscs, xviii.
    Benkendorff, K., and R. Przeslawski. 2008. Multiple measures are necessary to assess rarity in  macro-molluscs: a case study from southeastern Australia. Biodiversity and Conservation.
    Bennett, I. 1967. The fringe of the sea, 261 pp, 179 pls. Tri- Ocean Books, San Francisco.
    Bennett, I. 1966. Some pelagic molluscs and associated animals in south-eastern Australian waters. J. Malacol. Soc. Australia (9):40-51, pls. 8-13.
    Bergh, L. S. R. 1888. Beitrage zur Kenntniss der Aeolidiaden. IX. Verhandlungen der koniglich-kaiserlich Zoologisch-botanischen Gesellschaft in Wien (Abhandlungen) 38:673-706, pls. 16-20.
    Bergh, L. S. R. 1863. Campaspe pusilla, en ny Slaegstform af Dendronotidernes Gruppe, samt Bemaerkniger om Dotidernes Familie. Naturhistorisk Tidsskrift Stiftet af Henrik Kroyer 3 raekke 1(3):471-483, pl 12.
    Bergh, L. S. R. 1899. Nudibranches et Marsenia provenant des campagnes de la Princesse-Alice (1891-1897). Résultats des campagnes scientifiques accomplies sur son yacht par Albert 1er, Prince souverain de Monaco, 14: 1-45, 2 pls.
    Bergh, L. S. R. 1861. Om Forekomsten af Neldfiim hos Mollusker. Videnskabelige Meddelelser fra den Naturhistoriske Forening, Kjöbenhavn [for 1860]: 309-331, pl. 8.
    Bergh, L. S. R. 1905. Die Opisthobranchiata der Siboga-Expedition. Monographie 50, pp. 1-248, pls. 1-20.
    Bergh, L. S. R. 1907. The Opisthobranchiata of South Africa. Transactions of the South African Philosophical Society 17(1):1- 144, pls. 1-14, In: Marine Investigations of South Africa 5(1).
    Bergh, L. S. R. 1890. Die Nudibranchien des “Sunda-Meeres”. Malacologische Untersuchungen. In:  Reisen im Archipel der Philippinen von Dr. Carl Gottfried Semper. Zweiter Theil.
    Bergh, L. S. R. 1868. Anatomiske Bidrag til kundskab om aeolidierne. Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskabs Skrifter. Femte Raekke, Naturvidenskabelig og Mathematisk Afdeling Kjobenhavn 7:139-316, pls. I-IX.
    Bergh, L. S. R. 1884. Report on the Nudibranchiata collected by HMS Challenger during the years 1873-1876. Zoology 10 (part 26): 1-154, pl. 1-14.
    Bergh, L. S. R. 1888. Malacologische Untersuchungen, In: Reisen im Archipel der Philippinen von Dr Carl Gottfried Semper. Zweiter Theil. Wissenschaftliche Resultate. Band 2, Theil 3, Heft 16, 1 Halfte; pp 755-814, pls. 77-81.
    Bergh, L. S. R. 1908. Malacologische Untersuchungen, In: Reisen im Archipel der Philippinen von Dr Carl Gottfried Semper. Zweiter Theil. Wissenschaftliche Resultate. Band 9, Theil 6, Heft 3; pp 119-181, pls. 9-12.
    Bergh, L. S. R. 1878. Malacologische Untersuchungen, In: Reisen im Archipel der Philippinen von Dr Carl Gottfried Semper. Zweiter Theil. Wissenschaftliche Resultate. Band 2, Theil 2, Heft 14; pp 603-645, I-L, pls. 66-68.
    Bergh, L. S. R. 1890. Die cladohepatischen Nudibranchien. Zoologische Jahrbucher, Abtheilung fur Systematik Geographie und Biologie der Thiere 5:1-75.
    Bergh, R. 1892. System der Nudibranchiaten Gasteropoden. Malacologische Untersuchungen. In: Reisen im Archipel der Philippinen von Dr. Carl Gottfried Semper. Zweiter Theil#Wissenschaftliche Resultate. Band 7, Theil 5. [pp. 1–51, pls 1–4, Mar. 1897; pp. 53–115, pls 5–8, Dec. 1897; pp. 117–158, pls 9–12, Nov. 1898; pp. 159–208, pls 13–16, 27 Mar. 1900; pp. 209–256, pls 17–20, 29 Jan. 1901; pp. 257–312, pls. 21–24, 15 Oct. 1901; pp. 313–382, pls 25–29, 7 Oct. 1902].
    Bertsch, H. 1976. Intraspecific and ontogenetic radular variation in opisthobranch systematics (Mollusca: Gastropoda). Systematic Zoology 25(2):117-122.
    Bertsch, H., and S. Johnson. 1981. Hawaiian nudibranchs, a guide for SCUBA divers, snorkelers, tidepoolers, and aquarists, 112 pp. Oriental Publishing Co., Hawaii.
    Bieri, R. 1970. The food of Porpita and niche separation in three neuston coelenterates. Publications of the Seto Marine Biological Laboratory 17(5):305-307.
    Bieri, R. 1966. Feeding preferences and rates of the snail, Ianthina prolongata, the barnacle, Lepas anserifera, the nudibranchs, Glaucus atlanticus and Fiona pinnata, and the food web in the marine neuston. Publications of the Seto Marine Biological Laboratory 14:161-170, pls. III-IV.
    Bofill i Poch, A., and J. B. de Aguilar Amat. 1924. Malacologia de les illes Pitiuses. Trabajos del Museo de Ciencias Naturales de Barcelona 10(3):3-71, pls. 1-2.
    Branch, G. M. 2002. Two Oceans. 5th impression. David Philip, Cate Town & Johannesburg.
    Cattaneo-Vietti, R., and G. Barletta. 1984. Elenco preliminare dei molluschi opistobranchi viventi nel Mediterraneo (Sacoglossa, Pleurobranchomorpha, Acochlidiacea, Aplysiomorpha, Nudibranchia). Bollettino Malacologico (Pubblicazione Mensile Edita dalla Societa Italiana di Malacologia) 20(9-12):195-218.
    Cattaneo-Vietti, R., and F. Boero. 1988. Relationships between eolid (Mollusca, Nudibranchia) radular morphology and their cnidarian prey. Bollettino Malacologico (Pubblicazione Mensile Edita dalla Societa Italiana di Malacologia) 24(9-12):215-22.
    Cattaneo-Vietti, R., and T. E. Thompson. 1989. Mediterranean opisthobranch molluscs: a zoogeographic approach. Bollettino Malacologico (Pubblicazione Mensile Edita dalla Societa Italiana di Malacologia) 25(5-8):183-204.
    Cattaneo-Vietti, R., R. Chemello, and R. Giannuzzi-Savelli. 1990. Atlas of Mediterranean Nudibranchs. La Conchiglia, Rome, Italy.
    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.
    Cervera, J. L., J. Templado, J. C. García-Gómez, M. Ballesteros, J. Ortea, F. J. García, J. Ros, and A. A. Luque. 1988. Catálogo actualizado y comentado de los Opistobranquios (Mollusca, Gastropoda) de la Península Ibérica, Baleares y Canarias, con algunas referencias a Ceuta y la isla de Alborán. Iberus, supl. 1: 1-84.
    Churchill, C. K. C., A. Alejandrino, Á. Valdés, and D. Ó Foighil. 2013. Parallel changes in genital morphology delineate cryptic diversification of plamktonik nudibranchs. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 280: 20131224.
    Churchill, C. K. C., Á. Valdés, and D. O. Foighil. 2014. Afro-Eurasia and the Americas present barriers to gene flow for the cosmopolitan neustonic nudibranch Glaucus atlanticus. Marine Biology (Berlin). 161 (4): 899–910.
    Churchill, C. K. C., Á. Valdés, and D. Ó Foighil. 2014. Molecular and morphological systematics of neustonic nudibranchs (Mollusca : Gastropoda : Glaucidae : Glaucus), with descriptions of three new cryptic species. Invertebrate Systematics. 28: 174–195.
    Cuvier, G. L. C. F. D. 1830. Le règne animal distribué d’après son organisation, pour servir de base à l’histoire naturelle des animaux et d’introduction à l’anatomie comparée. Avec figures, dessinées d’après nature. Les nudibranches (3). Deterville, Libraire, Paris.

    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, Manuel Ballesteros, Enric Madrenas (2023) "Glaucus atlanticus" in OPK-Opistobranquis. Published: 25/09/2016. Accessed: 27/09/2023. Available at (https://opistobranquis.info/en/?p=22466)

To copy this cite click on the right button.