Doris berghi

Doris berghi (Vayssière, 1901)

Doris berghi @ Sant Feliu de Guíxols, Spain 22.02.2019 by Xavier Salvador

Taxonomic note: The taxonomic history of Doris berghi is complex and represents a recent example of pseudocrypticism within Mediterranean Dorididae. The species was originally described by Vayssière in 1901 as Aldisa berghi, based on specimens collected from the Gulf of Marseille. Subsequently, it was regarded as a synonym of Doris ocelligera (Bergh, 1881), mainly due to external similarities and in the absence of molecular data. For decades, the yellowish and bluish specimens attributed to Doris ocelligera were interpreted as simple intraspecific colour variations. However, the molecular and morphoanatomical study conducted by Renau, Salvador and Moles (2024) demonstrated that both morphotypes actually correspond to distinct species. Through the combined analysis of the COI, 16S and H3 markers, the authors recovered two clearly differentiated lineages, with genetic divergences consistent with species-level separation. Consequently, Aldisa berghi was taxonomically resurrected and transferred again to the genus Doris, establishing the valid combination Doris berghi comb. rest. The study also concluded that D. berghi and D. ocelligera are sympatric species inhabiting the north-eastern Atlantic and western Mediterranean, distinguishable both molecularly and by external and anatomical characters.

Synonyms

• Aldisa berghi Vayssière, 1901

Description
Doris berghi is a small dorid nudibranch with an oval and convex body, showing a compact and warty appearance. The mantle displays an overall whitish-yellow or pale yellow coloration, more intense in the central dorsal region, where the viscera are partially visible through the body wall. The margins are translucent. The dorsal surface is covered with prominent, translucent whitish tubercles ending in a brownish-orange apex. The central tubercles are larger and more conspicuous, forming a longitudinal band between the rhinophores and the branchial plume. The rhinophores are white, lamellate and relatively short, with approximately six lamellae. The gills are translucent and inconspicuous. Known body size is small; the specimens studied by Renau et al. measured between 4 and 7 mm preserved, although living animals probably slightly exceed 1 cm in length. In life, the species exhibits a very pale appearance, with cream or golden-yellow tones, closely matching Vayssière’s original description: “golden-yellow coloration” with “scattered white dots” and tubercles crowned by brown spots.

Biology
The biology of this species remains poorly known. The studied specimens were found on shallow rocky substrates both in the Mediterranean and the north-eastern Atlantic. Unlike Doris ocelligera, whose association with certain sponge species has been documented, no sponge spicules were identified in the digestive contents of dissected D. berghi specimens, and therefore its exact diet remains unconfirmed. Nevertheless, by affinity with other Dorididae, it is probably a specialised feeder on benthic sponges.

Etymology

• Doris: In Greek mythology, Doris was a sea nymph, wife of Nereus and mother of the Nereids.
• berghi: in honor to the Danish malacologist Rudolph Bergh, one of the most influential specialists in nudibranch taxonomy during the nineteenth century.

Distribution
The type locality of Doris berghi is the Gulf of Marseille, in the French Mediterranean. The species is currently known from the western Mediterranean and the north-eastern Atlantic. Renau et al. (2024) confirmed specimens from Catalonia (Sant Feliu de Guíxols and Begur), Galicia (Playa Viveiro, A Coruña) and Gran Canaria (Piscinas de Agaete, Gran Canaria). Its known distribution appears to overlap broadly with that of Doris ocelligera, and the two species are therefore considered sympatric. It is probably also present in other Macaronesian and Mediterranean areas where yellowish specimens have historically been identified as D. ocelligera, although this requires molecular confirmation.

We have no known georeferenced records for the species: Doris berghi.

More pictures

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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

• World Register of Marine Species

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