Lomanotus marmoratus

Lomanotus marmoratus (Alder & Hancock, 1845)

• Eumenis marmoratus Alder & Hancock, 1845
• Lomanotus eisigii Trinchese, 1883

Description
Up to 34 mm in length but usually 15-20 mm. Gray body with brown and white spots that give it its marbled appearance. The oral veil has 4 short processes. The rhinophores have very thin lamellae and have a rhinophoric sheath that surrounds them, thick and digitated in their upper margin. The margins of the mantle are sinuous from the area of the rhinophores to the tail and have irregularly shaped papillae. The brown digestive gland can be seen on the back by transparency. The foot forms two well developed propodial palps in its anterior zone.

Biology
It lives from shallow depths down to more than 100 meters on colonies of Nemertesia antenina tecate hydrozoan, on which it feeds and deposits its eggs forming a cord with zigzag laid eggs. Due to its shape and color, it is very cryptic on the hydrozoan colonies it lives on.

Etymology

• Lomanotus. From Greek “loma”, ridge, edge  + “noton”, back.
• Marmoratus. From Latin verb “marmoro”, marble coated.

Distribution
This species lives along the coasts of northern Europe, and is also reported from the Galician coasts of Spain. In Catalonia it is a very rare species that has only been collected in the commercial trawling grounds off Blanes, so far the only report of the species for the Mediterranean (Domènech et al., 2006).

Known georeferenced records of the species: Lomanotus marmoratus

Sources:
OBIS GROC 2010-2011 Enric Madrenas João Pedro Silva Bernard Picton GBIF	OPK VIMAR Manuel Ballesteros M@re Nostrum Altres fonts Marine Regions

More pictures

Lomanotus marmoratus Ringhaddy Sound, Strangford Lough, Co Down, Ireland, 15m. October 2006. – Photograph ©Bernard Picton

Lomanotus marmoratus – Photograph ©Bernard Picton

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

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