Embletonia pulchra

Embletonia pulchra (Alder et Hancock, 1844)

• Embletonia faurei Labbé, 1923
• Pterochilus pulcher Alder & Hancock, 1844 (original)

Description
This is a small sized nudibranch species that can reach 6-7 mm length. The body is basically coloured cream, semi-transparent. The anterior margin of the head is bilobed, forming a kind of cephalic veil and without oral tentacles. The rhinophores are relatively short, share the same color of the body, and lack any lamellae. The eyes are located slightly behind the base of the rhinophores. There are only 6-7 cerata on each side of the body, the first of each side are well separated from the rest, often arranged quite to the end of the body, so that the last ones go beyond the end of the tail. The cerata are short and somewhat globose, with a wide apex in the center, marked by a small incision. The first two cerata of either side are positioned at the same level while the others are clearly interleaved. The cerata do not have cnidosacs at its end. The digestive gland is coloured greenish-brown or orange. In animals that have not eaten for days, the digestive gland appears as a fine cord running along the back, mainly on the left side and with ramifications into each cerata. Ventrally, the mouth is in the center of the frontal cephalic veil and lacks any labial palps. The foot is narrow and rounded on the front side, and the tail is very short.

Biology
This is a species with very little biological data available. It has been cited living under stones, on floating buoys, on hydrozoans (Nemertesia, Hydrallmania) in amphioxus bottoms, sandy bottoms and mixed sand-gravel bottoms, from 0 to 60 m deep (Urgorri. 1981). Apparently it feeds on hydroids, but under laboratory conditions several specimens were capable of feeding on amfípods and solenogastre molluscs. The spawn is in a thin cord wound in a spiral of two turns and a half with two rows of eggs inside.

Etymology

• Embletonia in honor to Denis Embleton, a victorian anatomyst at the Newcastle University.
• Pulchra, from Latin, means pretty, beautiful, handsome, fine

Distribution
This species lives in European waters from Norway to the western Mediterranean and Black Sea. In the Iberian Peninsula it has been cited in the Galician coast, Portugal, the Straits of Gibraltar, the Levantine coast and Catalonia. In the Catalan coast it has been found in Es Caials, Cala Aiguafreda and Cova de La Vaca in the Medes islands.

Known georeferenced records of the species: Embletonia pulchra

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

Similar species
Due to its physical traits it is not confused with any other species.

Videos

More pictures

Embletonia pulchra @ The President, Eyemouth, UK 18.06.2017 by Jim Anderson

Embletonia pulchra @ Greenends Gulley, Eyemouth, UK 15.06.2017 by Jim Anderson

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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