Eubranchus vittatus

Eubranchus vittatus (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.

• Cratena vittata (Alder & Hancock, 1842)
• Eolis vittata Alder & Hancock, 1842 (original)
• Galvina vittata (Alder & Hancock, 1842)

Description
It can reach more than 20 mm in length. The background body color is grayish white with brown or greenish spots and white scores scattered throughout the body. The oral tentacles and rhinophores are brown at the base, with white scores near the tip. Rhinophores are smooth and the oral tentacles are short. There are 7-8 groups of cerata on each side of the notum, the most anterior group is well separated from the others; The cerata are long, thin and smooth and have 3 bands of brown or green, the apex is white and, inside the cerata, the digestive gland is whitish.

Biology
It lives on rocky infralitoral walls associated with colonies of tecate hydrozoans such as Kirchenpaueria pinnata. The spawn is shaped like a ribbon with the shape of a cup and is laid on the same hydrarian. Because of its shape and color, it is very cryptic on the hydrozoan colonies it lives on.

Etymology

• Eubranchus. From Greek “eu”, good, well + “bragchia”, gill.
• Vittatus. From Latin “vittatus”, adorned with a narrow strip or band.

Distribution
There are very few reports of this species in Europe. It is a relatively abundant species in the British Isles but rare in the rest of the continent. It has also been found on the Galician coast. In Catalonia it is very rare as it has been observed just two times, a single specimen in Mar Menuda (Tossa de Mar) and a juvenile specimen in Llafranc.

Known georeferenced records of the species: Eubranchus vittatus

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

Eubranchus vittatus @ Portugal by João Pedro Silva

Eubranchus vittatus by Bernard Picton

Eubranchus vittatus @ Norway by Viktor Vasskog Grøtan

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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