Home Guide to Opisthobranchs Nudibranchia Cladobranchia Fionoidea Amphorina farrani

Amphorina farrani

Amphorina farrani (Alder & Hancock, 1844)

Amphorina farrani by Pontes, Miquel

Taxonomy
 

Superdomain

Biota  

 

Kingdom

Animalia  

 

Phylum

Mollusca  

 

Class

Gastropoda  

 

Subclass

Heterobranchia  

 

Infraclass

Euthyneura  

 

Subterclass

Ringipleura  

 

Superorder

Nudipleura  

 

Order

Nudibranchia  

 

Suborder

Cladobranchia  

 

Superfamily

Fionoidea  

 

Family

Eubranchidae  

 

Genus

Amphorina  

 

Species

Amphorina farrani  (Alder & Hancock, 1844)

 
 Classification according to Bouchet et al. (2017)
Taxonomic source: World Register of Marine Species (AphiaID: 1424909).
Synonyms

  • Eolis farrani Alder & Hancock, 1844: 164–165; Alder & Hancock, 1845: fam 3, pl. 35.
  • Galvina farrani (Alder & Hancock, 1844): Bergh 1873: 622; Colgan 1914: 183–185.
  • Cavolina farrani (Alder & Hancock, 1844): Gray J.E. 1857: 226.
  • Eubranchus farrani (Alder & Hancock, 1844): O’Donoghue 1926: 128.
  • Eubranchus farrani sensu Edmunds & Kress, 1969: forms A & B only: 890, fig. 2 A, B.
  • Amphorina farrani (Alder & Hancock, 1844): Martynov 1998: 775.
  • Amphorina alberti Quatrefages, 1844: 146–151, pl. 3, fig. 5, pl. 4, fig. 3.
  • Aeolis adelaidae Thompson, 1860: 49.
  • Eolis robertianae Mc’Intosh, 1865: 393.
  • Eolis tricolor sensu Friele and Hansen 1876, non Forbes 1838.
  • Non Amphorina alberti sensu Trinchese 1877–1879 and auctt. (= Trinchesia spp.)
  • Non all forms of Eubranchus farrani sensu Edmunds & Kress, 1969 (several species)
  • Non Eubranchus farrani sensu Schmekel & Portmann 1982: 241–243, taf. 14, Fig.
    1–3, abb. 7.78 (= Amphorina andra sp. nov. + mixture of species)

Description
Narrow body that could measure more than 20 mm in length, but in most cases the specimens are smaller, of 10 to 15 mm. Body color is very variable, there are specimens with a completely pale body and cerata with small orange-yellow pigment spots, that never have a spot or stripe on the tail. Other specimens have distinct orange or yellow stains all along the body, and with a broad subapical orange or yellow ring on each cera, sometimes with a dark brown body colour, and always have an orange or yellow spot or stripe on the tip of the tail. No specimens with blackish spots have been observed, neither with an uniformly bright orange body. Smooth rhinophores, 1.5-2 times longer than the oral tentacles, the distal part of both rhinophores and oral tentacles is covered with orange pigment and scattered small white dots without a light pinkish pigment ring. Cerata relatively long and quite swollen, forming 7-8 groups up to 5 cerata each, in increasing numbers anteriorly and decreasing posteriorly towards the tail. The heart region is located between the second cerata group. The anal opening is located in a small papilla placed right behind and slightly to the right of the cardiac area. The genital opening is located below and slightly behind the first right group of cerata. The foot  is narrow and the anterior part shows no propodial palps or foot corners.

Biology
This species is usually found in shallow littoral bottoms, from 0.5 to 20m., where hydrozoans grow on algae as epibionts. A. farrani feeds on small hydrarians like Obelia geniculata growing on kelp, in Codium fragile and other algae or mussel shells. It can also be located under stones where hydrarians grow. The spawn is a small ribbon coiled in one turn, or one turn and half, with white or slightly pink eggs of about 90 microns (Schmekel & Portmann, 1982).

Etymology

  • Farrani = in honor of Dr. G.P. Farran of Dublín, naturalyst and shell collector who helped in the Alder & Hancock sampling campaign in the Irish shores in 1843, where the type specimen used to describe the species was collected.

Distribution
This species has been cited in Norway, the British Isles, Atlantic coasts of France and the English Channel, the Iberian Peninsula, the Canary islands, Açores and around the Mediterranean. In the Iberian Peninsula shores it has been reported in all coastal areas. In the Catalan coast it has been observed in different localities as Cadaques, L’Escala, Tossa de Mar, Lloret de Mar, Blanes and Cubelles.

Known georeferenced records of the species: Amphorina farrani
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
To separate this species from the others of the genus some aspects must be taken into account:

  • The presence of big bright yellow-orange spots on the dorsum, absent in A.andra.
  • Absence of forms with black background or uniform yellow coloration, typical of A.andra.
  • In specimens with these spots on dorsum and cerata, a distinct yellow-orange spot or stripe on the tail is always present, absent in A.andra, that could have a white line instead.
  • Pale specimens of A.farrani have no spot or stripe on the tail tip.
  • Larger size of dorsal spots (in spotted forms) than A.pallida.
  • Absence of small orange or brown spots on cerata, present in some A.pallida.
  • There is no light pinkish subapical ring on cerata, typical of A.viriola.
  • There is no punctuated white line on edge of foot, typical of A.linensis.
  • Cerata are commonly moderately swollen but without a distinctly attenuated apex, typical of A.linensis.
  • The digestive gland inside the cerata is relatively broad without distinct short branches.
  • They have up to four anterior rows of cerata.

Abundance

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

This chart displays the monthly observation probability for Amphorina farrani based on our own records.

More pictures

Amphorina farrani by Enric Madrenas
Amphorina farrani by Enric Madrenas
Amphorina farrani by Enric Madrenas
Amphorina farrani by Enric Madrenas
Amphorina farrani with white lined tail by Enric Madrenas
Amphorina farrani by Enric Madrenas
Amphorina farrani by Enric Madrenas
Amphorina farrani with white lined tail @ Galicia by Carlos Fernández-Cid
Amphorina farrani @ Ammouliani island, Halkidiki, Greece 22-12-2015 by Yiannis Iliopoulos
Amphorina farrani
Amphorina farrani @ Eivissa by Joan Pereyra
Amphorina farrani @ L’Escala, Spain by Eli Franco Valero
Amphorina farrani @ Catania, Italy 16.05.2022 by Salvo Gambacurta
Amphorina farrani @ Catania, Italy 16.05.2022 by Salvo Gambacurta
Amphorina farrani @ Catania, Italy 16.05.2022 by Salvo Gambacurta
Amphorina farrani @ Catania, Italy 16.05.2022 by Salvo Gambacurta
Amphorina farrani @ Catania, Italy 16.05.2022 by Salvo Gambacurta
Amphorina farrani @ France by Pascal Girard
Amphorina farrani @ France by Pascal Girard
Amphorina farrani @ Costa Brava, Spain by Miquel Pontes
Amphorina farrani @ Granada por Luis Sánchez Tocino
Amphorina farrani 8mm @ Granada by 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. (2023) "Amphorina farrani" in OPK-Opistobranquis. Published: 16/05/2012. Accessed: 22/09/2023. Available at (https://opistobranquis.info/en/?p=581)

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