Cuthona nana (Alder & Hancock, 1842)
WoRMS Taxonomic Information
Current classification
| Superdomain | Biota |
|---|---|
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Mollusca |
| Class | Gastropoda |
| Subclass | Heterobranchia |
| Infraclass | Euthyneura |
| Subterclass | Ringipleura |
| Superorder | Nudipleura |
| Order | Nudibranchia |
| Suborder | Cladobranchia |
| Superfamily | Fionoidea |
| Family | Cuthonidae |
| Genus | Cuthona |
| Species | Cuthona nana (Alder & Hancock, 1842) |
Taxonomic note: The phylogenetic analyses performed by Cella et al. (2016) revealed that the traditional Tergipedidae family is polyphyletic and belongs to a larger monophyletic clade including members of the traditional families Eubranchidae, Fionidae and Calmidae; this was an unexpected result, since the validity of these taxa and their distinctness from the Tergipedidae was never questioned before. They proposed to join the families Tergipedidae, Eubranchidae, Calmidae and Fionidae under the name of Fionidae. This decision has been reinterpreted and completed in the paper by Korshunova et al. (2017) because it obviated evident morphological and molecular aspects.
The type species of the genus Cuthona, Cuthona nana, together with C. divae and C. hermitophila, forms a monophyletic and highly supported clade that reveals the fact that these three species are conspecific, as is the species Cratena rubra. However, the position of Cuthona within Fionidae still remains somewhat ambiguous.Synonyms
- Cratena hirsuta Bergh, 1864
- Eolis nana Alder & Hancock, 1842
- Eolis peachii Alder & Hancock, 1848
Description
Biology
Etymology
- Cuthona. From Greek “keytho” or “kytho”, to hide.
- Nana. From Latin “nanus”, small sized.
Distribution
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Abundance
| Western Mediterranean: | ☆☆☆☆☆ |
| Eastern Mediterranean: | ☆☆☆☆☆ |
| Atlantic Ocean: | ☆☆☆☆☆ |
This chart displays the monthly observation probability for Cuthona nana based on our own records.
More pictures
Bibliography
Further reading
- AsturNatura
- Biodiversity Heritage Library
- DORIS
- Encyclopedia of Marine Life of Britain and Ireland
- European Sea Slugs by Morddyn
- Flickr pictures
- Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera
- Medslugs (Atl.NE)
- NCBI GenBank
- OBIS - Search by Taxon
- Scottish Nudibranchs
- The Conchological Society of Great Britain and Ireland
- World Register of Marine Species
Cite this article as:
Ballesteros, M., Madrenas, E. & Pontes, M. (2025) "Cuthona nana" in OPK-Opistobranquis. Published: 18/10/2014. Accessed: 03/09/2026. Available at (https://opistobranquis.info/en/?p=16154)
