Piseinotecus sphaeriferus

Piseinotecus sphaeriferus (Schmekel, 1965)

Piseinotecus sphaeriferus @Azoia, Setúbal, Portugal 27-08-2011 by João Pedro Silva

Taxonomy
 

Superdomain

Biota  

 

Kingdom

Animalia  

 

Phylum

Mollusca  

 

Class

Gastropoda  

 

Subclass

Heterobranchia  

 

Infraclass

Euthyneura  

 

Subterclass

Ringipleura  

 

Superorder

Nudipleura  

 

Order

Nudibranchia  

 

Suborder

Cladobranchia  

 

Superfamily

Aeolidioidea  

 

Family

Piseinotecidae  

 

Genus

Piseinotecus  

 

Species

Piseinotecus sphaeriferus  (Schmekel, 1965)

 
 Classification according to Bouchet et al. (2017)
Taxonomic source: World Register of Marine Species (AphiaID: 140785).
Synonyms

  • Calmella sphaerifera Schmekel, 1965

Description
This is a small aeolidacean that rarely exceeds 5-6 mm in length. His body is thin, semitransparent, at times with a yellow or pink shade. Oral tentacles are relatively short compared to the rhinophores, which are very long, thin and smooth. The oral tentacles and rhinophores are semitransparent like the body, but with numerous thick white scores. These white scores are also present along the back. There are 4-5 groups of cerata on each side of the body. The cerata from each group come from a common stalk or base. The cerata are thin and long, with somewhat sharpened tips and the soft brown digestive gland visible by transparency; at the end of cerata there is a clearly visible cnidosac. At the base of each cerata there is usually a greenish spherical structure that Schmekel (1965) attributed to a glandular portion of the hepatic diverticulum located inside each cerata. Sometimes this green sphere, which this species is named for, is not visible, which could be related to feeding. The foot is narrow and has two short propodials palps at its front. The tail is long and narrow, it is semi-transparent and its margin is usually pigmented opaque white.

Biology
This small aeolidacean lives among colonies of epibiont hydroids that grow on different species of algae and seagrass (Ulva, Cymodocea, Posidonia oceanica). Mavric et al. (2012) found it in the Adriatic Sea between scyphopolyps of Aurelia aurita. Schmekel (1965) indicates that it feeds hydrozoan polyps of the genus Obelia. The spawn is a coiled narrow ribbon with white eggs of about 45 microns in diameter.

Etymology

  • Piseinotecus means “I stepped on Teco.” Teco was a dog belonging to Ernst and Eveline Marcus. Apparently Prof. Diva Diniz Corrêa, friend of the family, unadvertedly stepped on the dog and while the Marcuses were looking for a new generic name she said in Portuguese: “Pisei”=I stteped, “no”=onto, “Tecus”=the dog’s name. Later on that name became also a family name: Piseinotecidae (ref:Curious Taxonomy and Marcus, Ev. 1987).
  • Sphaeriferus. From Latin “Sphaera”, ball, sphere, globe, orb + “fera”, to carry, to transport, probably in reference to the peculiar emerald green “balls” located at the base of the cerata.

Distribution
This little-known species has only been recorded so far in the islands of Nisida and Procida (type localities for this species) in the Gulf of Naples, in the Canary Islands (Ortea et al. 2003), Ghana (Edmunds, 1977 ), on the Adriatic coast of Slovenia (Mavric et al. 2012) and in Catalonia (Spain). There is a recent report in the Catalan coast, at Punta del Romaní (L’Escala, Costa Brava) (GROC, 2014), and there is also an ancient unpublished observation at Cala Canyelles (Ballesteros, pers.obs. 1981).

Known georeferenced records of the species: Piseinotecus sphaeriferus
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
It cannot be confused with any other species. The greenish spherical vesicles at the base of the cerata allow it to be easily identified.

Abundance

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

This chart displays the monthly observation probability for Piseinotecus sphaeriferus based on our own records.

More pictures

Bibliography

    Ballesteros M, Madrenas E, Pontes M. 2016. Actualización del catálogo de los moluscos opistobranquios (Gastropoda: Heterobranchia) de las costas catalanas. Spira. 6:1–28.
    Ballesteros M, Madrenas E, Pontes M. 2023. OPK - Opistobranquis. Available from https://opistobranquis.info/.
    Ballesteros M, Pontes M, Madrenas E. 2019. Els nudibranquis del mar català. Figueres: Brau Edicions. 192 p.
    Bedulli D, Cattaneo-Vietti R, Chemello R, et al. 1995. Gastropoda Opisthobranchia, Divasibranchia, Gymnomorpha, Fascicolo 15, pp. 1-23.  In: A. Minelli, A. Ruffo, & S. La Posta (Eds.). Checklist delle specie fauna italiana. Bologna: Calderini (Checklist delle specie della Fauna Italiana).
    Cattaneo-Vietti R, Barletta G. 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, Thompson TE. 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, Chemello R, Giannuzzi-Savelli R. 1990. Atlas of Mediterranean Nudibranchs. Rome, Italy: La Conchiglia. 264 p.
    Cervera JL, García-Gómez JC. 1986. Moluscos opistobranquios del litoral occidental andaluz: nuevas aportaciones faunísticas. Iberus 6 (2): 201-207.
    Cervera JL, García-Gómez JC, García FJ. 1986. Una nueva especie de Piseinotecus Marcus, 1955 (Gastropoda: Nudibranchia) del litoral ibérico. Bollettino Malacologico 22 (9-12): 215-222.
    Cervera JL, Calado G, Gavaia C, et al. 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.
    Edmunds M. 1991. Does warning coloration occur in nudibranchs. Malacologia 32(2):241-255.
    Garcia FJ, Bertsch H. 2009. Diversity and distribution of the Gastropoda Opisthobranchia from the Atlantic Ocean: A global biogeographic approach. Scientia Marina. 73(1):153–160. https://doi.org/10.3989/scimar.2009.73n1153.
    Long SJ. 2006. Bibliography of Opisthobranchia 1554-2000. Bayside Books & Press, Tustin, CA, U.S.A. 672p.
    Marcus Ev d. BR. 1987. Selected recollections from my life. American Malacological Bulletin 5(2):183-184.
    McDonald G. 2009. Bibliographia Nudibranchia. 2nd Online Edition, Annotated. 1072 pp  Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz. Available from http://escholarship.org/uc/item/8115h0wz.
    Ortea J, Espinosa J. 1998. Estudio de nueve especies del género Flabellina Voight, 1834 (Mollusca: Nudibranchia) colectadas en Angola, Cabo Verde, Costa Rica, Cuba y Portugal, con la descripción de tres especies nuevas. Avicennia 8-9: 135-148.
    Ortea JA, Quero A, Rodriguez G, et al. 1993. Presencia de Piseinotecus gaditanus (Gastropoda: Nudibranchia) en las Islas de Cabo Verde. Courier Forschungisinstitut Senckenberg 159:221-224.
    Ortea J, L. Moro MC, Bacallado JJ. 2003. Resultados Científicos del proyecto “Macaronesia 2000” Chinijo-2002: Moluscos Opistobranquios. Revista de la Academia Canaria de Ciencias 14 (3-4): 165-180.
    Ros J. 1981. Desarrollo y estrategias bionómicas en los Opistobranquios. Oecologia aquatica 5: 147-183. Available from https://raco.cat/index.php/oecologiaaquatica/article/view/382034.
    Rufray X, Girard P, Le Bris S, et al. 2021. Liste commentée des limaces de mer de la lagune de Thau, Hérault. Les cahiers de la fondation Biotope. 36:1–189. Available from https://www.biotope.fr/download/230907/.
    Sabelli B, Gianuzzi-Savelli R, Bedulli D. 1990. Catalogo annotato dei Molluschi marini del Mediterraneo. Libreria Naturalistica Bolognese. Bologna, Italy: 348 pp.
    Schmekel L. 1965. Calmella sphaeriphera n. sp. ein neuer Aeoliden aus dem Mittelmeer. Pubblicazioni della Stazione Zoologica di Napoli 34: 452-461.
    Schmekel L. 1968. Ascoglossa, Notaspidea und Nudibranchia im Litoral des Golfes von Neapel. Revue Suisse de Zoologie. 75(6):103–155.
    Schmekel L, Portmann A. 1982. Opisthobranchia des Mittelmeeres, Nudibranchia und Saccoglossa. Fauna e Flora del Golfo Napoli. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. 410 p.
    Templado J, Villanueva R. 2010. Checklist of Phylum Mollusca. pp. 148-198 In Coll, M., et al., 2010. The biodiversity of the Mediterranean Sea: estimates, patterns, and threats. PLoS ONE 5(8):36pp.
    Trainito E, Doneddu M. 2014. Nudibranchi del Mediterraneo. 2nd. Il Castello. 192 p.
    WoRMS Editorial Board. 2023. World Register of Marine Species. WoRMS. Available from 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:

Ballesteros, M., Madrenas, E. & Pontes, M. (2023) "Piseinotecus sphaeriferus" in OPK-Opistobranquis. Published: 21/03/2015. Accessed: 19/03/2024. Available at (https://opistobranquis.info/en/?p=18741)

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