Home Guide to Opisthobranchs Nudibranchia Cladobranchia Tritonioidea Candiella cincta

Candiella cincta

Candiella cincta (Pruvot-Fol, 1937)

Candiella cincta @ L'Escala by Enric Madrenas

Taxonomy
 

Superdomain

Biota  

 

Kingdom

Animalia  

 

Phylum

Mollusca  

 

Class

Gastropoda  

 

Subclass

Heterobranchia  

 

Infraclass

Euthyneura  

 

Subterclass

Ringipleura  

 

Superorder

Nudipleura  

 

Order

Nudibranchia  

 

Suborder

Cladobranchia  

 

Superfamily

Tritonioidea  

 

Family

Tritoniidae  

 

Subfamily

Tritoniinae  

 

Genus

Candiella  

 

Species

Candiella cincta  (Pruvot-Fol, 1937)

 
 Classification according to Bouchet et al. (2017)
Taxonomic source: World Register of Marine Species (AphiaID: 1669249).
Synonyms

  • Tritonia cincta Pruvot-Fol, 1937 (Original)
  • Tritoniopsis cincta (Pruvot-Fol, 1937)

Description
Maximum recorded body length of 16 mm. The body is high, translucent white or yellowish, with a quadrangular section, with a tapered tail. The dorsum is edged by a bright yellow marginal ridge that goes to the sides of the rhinophoral sheaths, which are quite high, and obliquely truncated, the upper border slightly widened and colored orange. The rhinophores are white and have a rather large club surrounded by bushy branches. The head has a yellow bordered oral veil with four white triangular digitations, the largest at the centre. There are two tall branched deep yellow or orange processes (gills) on each side of the body, widely separated from each other. There are always a few small red dots scattered on the dorsum. Foot anterior corners are rounded. The genital openings are on the right side of the body, slightly in front of the first gill, and the anus and the nephroproct slightly ahead of the second gill immediately below the notal margin.

Biology
Little is known from its biology. Most findings come from dredgings, but when directly observed at sea, it has been found in rocky bottoms covered by cnidarians on which it feeds (Cattaneo-Vietti et al., 1990). Despite its relatively stocky shape, it is extremely flexible.

Etymology

  • Candiella. Classic authors did not usually explain the origin of the chosen names.
  • Cincta, from Latin “cinctus”, surrounded, encircled, in reference to the yellow ridge surrounding the notum.

Distribution
Previously thought to be a strictly Mediterranean species, as it was first reported in Banyuls sur Mer, France (Pruvot-Fol, 1937) with some later reports from the Levantine coast of Spain (Templado et al. 1988; Moreno & Barrajón, 2012), the Ligurian Sea and the Gulf of Naples, Italy (Cattaneo-Vietti et al. 1990), but a recent finding from Donostia (Spain, NE Atlantic Ocean; 28 october 2016 by José Manuel Cerviño Pousada in “World of Nudibranchs” Facebook group) and another one in the Adriatic, at Due Sorelle, Monte Conero, Italy by Marco Buoncompagni (2017) considerable widens its distribution range. A finding in May 2020 at Racó d’en Bofill, Cadaqués by Anja Mares is the first report for Catalonia.

Known georeferenced records of the species: Candiella cincta
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
Candiella odhneri, very similar but body completely white or grey, lacking the yellow border on the rhinophoric sheaths, nor other colour traits.

Abundance

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

This chart displays the monthly observation probability for Candiella cincta based on our own records.

More pictures

Candiella cincta @ Argentario, Italy 25-05-2012
Candiella cincta @ Donostia, Spain 28-10-2016 by Jose Manuel Cerviño Pousada
Candiella cincta @ Donostia, Spain 28-10-2016 by Jose Manuel Cerviño Pousada
Candiella cincta @ Donostia, Spain 28-10-2016 by Jose Manuel Cerviño Pousada
Candiella cincta @ Donostia, Spain 28-10-2016 by Jose Manuel Cerviño Pousada
Candiella cincta @ Donostia, Spain 28-10-2016 by Jose Manuel Cerviño Pousada
Candiella cf. cincta @ Racó d’en Bofill, Cadaqués, Catalunya, 30-05-2020 by Anja Mares
Candiella cf. cincta @ Racó d’en Bofill, Cadaqués, Catalunya, 30-05-2020 by Anja Mares
Candiella cf. cincta @ Racó d’en Bofill, Cadaqués, Catalunya, 30-05-2020 by Anja Mares
Candiella cf. cincta by Enric Madrenas
Candiella cf. cincta by Enric Madrenas
Candiella cincta @ Eivissa (Spain) by Joan Pereyra
Candiella cincta @ Eivissa (Spain) by Joan Pereyra

Bibliography

    Ballesteros M, Pontes M, Madrenas E. 2019. Els nudibranquis del mar català. Figueres: Brau Edicions. 192 p.
    Ballesteros M, Madrenas E, Pontes M. 2025. OPK - Opistobranquis. Available from https://opistobranquis.info/.
    Barletta G, Mariani M, Perego C. 1990. Considerazioni preliminari sugli opistobranchi viventi nella baia di Paraggi (Ge). Lavori della Societa Italiana di Malacologia 23:247-260.
    Bedulli D, Cattaneo-Vietti R, Chemello R, et al. 1995. Gastropoda Opisthobranchia, Divasibranchia, Gymnomorpha, Fascicolo 15, pp. 1-23.  In: A. Minelli, A. Ruffo, & S. La Posta (Eds.). Checklist delle specie fauna italiana. Bologna: Calderini (Checklist delle specie della Fauna Italiana).
    Cattaneo-Vietti R. 1986. Alcune considerazioni sui molluschi opistobranchi del Mar Ligure. Lavori Societa Italiana di Malacologia 22:85-96.
    Cattaneo-Vietti R, Barletta G. 1984. Elenco preliminare dei molluschi opistobranchi viventi nel Mediterraneo (Sacoglossa, Pleurobranchomorpha, Acochlidiacea, Aplysiomorpha, Nudibranchia). Bollettino Malacologico (Pubblicazione Mensile Edita dalla Societa Italiana di Malacologia) 20(9-12):195-218.
    Cattaneo-Vietti R, Thompson TE. 1989. Mediterranean opisthobranch molluscs: a zoogeographic approach. Bollettino Malacologico (Pubblicazione Mensile Edita dalla Societa Italiana di Malacologia) 25(5-8):183-204.
    Cattaneo-Vietti R, Chemello R, Giannuzzi-Savelli R. 1990. Atlas of Mediterranean Nudibranchs. Rome, Italy: La Conchiglia. 264 p.
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    Cervera JL, Calado G, Gavaia C, et al. 2004. An annotated and updated checklist of the opisthobranchs (Mollusca: Gastropoda) from Spain and Portugal (including islands and archipelagos). Boletín Instituto Español de Oceanografía, 20 (1-4): 1-111. L.
    De Vasconcelos Silva F, Pola M, Cervera JL. 2023. A stomach plate to divide them all: a phylogenetic reassessment of the family Tritoniidae (Nudibranchia: Cladobranchia). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. XX:1–32. https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad013.
    Garcia FJ, Bertsch H. 2009. Diversity and distribution of the Gastropoda Opisthobranchia from the Atlantic Ocean: A global biogeographic approach. Scientia Marina. 73(1):153–160. https://doi.org/10.3989/scimar.2009.73n1153.
    Gray JE. 1850. [text]. In: Gray, M.E., Figures of molluscous animals, selected from various authors. Vol. 4. Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans. p. 219. Available from https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/11632090.
    Long SJ. 2006. Bibliography of Opisthobranchia 1554-2000. Bayside Books & Press, Tustin, CA, U.S.A. 672p.
    McDonald G. 2009. Bibliographia Nudibranchia. 2nd Online Edition, Annotated. 1072 pp  Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz. Available from http://escholarship.org/uc/item/8115h0wz.
    Moreno Lampreave D, Barrajón Domenech A. 2012. Primera cita de Tritoniopsis cincta (Pruvot-Fol, 1937) (Gastropoda: Opisthobranchia: Tritoniidae) en Andalucía, Sur de la Península Ibérica. Noticiario SEM. 57:77–78.
    Pruvot-Fol A. 1937. Etude des opisthobranches des côtes Nord de la Méditerranée provenant en majeure partie de Banyuls avec adjonction d’échantillon récoltés à Villefranche ainsi que dans quelques autres localités. Archives du Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris (6) 14: 35-74.
    Sabelli B, Gianuzzi-Savelli R, Bedulli D. 1990. Catalogo annotato dei Molluschi marini del Mediterraneo. Libreria Naturalistica Bolognese. Bologna, Italy: 348 pp.
    Schmekel L, Portmann A. 1982. Opisthobranchia des Mittelmeeres, Nudibranchia und Saccoglossa. Fauna e Flora del Golfo Napoli. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. 410 p.
    Templado J, Villanueva R. 2010. Checklist of Phylum Mollusca. pp. 148-198 In Coll, M., et al., 2010. The biodiversity of the Mediterranean Sea: estimates, patterns, and threats. PLoS ONE 5(8):36pp.
    Templado J, Luque AA, Moreno D. 1988. Nuevas aportaciones al conocimiento de los opistobranquios del sureste español. Iberus 8 (1): 15-23.
    Trainito E. 2005. Nudibranchi del Mediterraneo : guida al riconoscimento dei molluschi opistobranchi. Trezzano sul Naviglio (Milano): Il Castello.
    Trainito E, Doneddu M. 2014. Nudibranchi del Mediterraneo. 2nd. Il Castello. 192 p.
    Trainito E, Trainito S. 2003. Mediterranean harlequins : a field guide to Mediterranean sea slugs. Olbia (SS), Italia: Taphros.
    Trainito E, Doneddu M, Furfaro G. 2019. Tritoniopsis cincta (Pruvot-Fol, 1937) (Gastropoda, Nudibranchia): first record for the Sardinian sea (Italy) and new additional notes on its distribution and diet. Studia Marina. 32(2):5–11. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3584272.
    WoRMS Editorial Board. 2025. World Register of Marine Species. WoRMS. Available from http://www.marinespecies.org.

    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:

Pontes, Miquel, Manuel Ballesteros, Enric Madrenas (2012-2025) "Candiella cincta" in OPK-Opistobranquis. Published: 01/11/2016. Accessed: 03/02/2025. Available at (https://opistobranquis.info/en/?p=22719)