Home Guide to Opisthobranchs Nudibranchia Doridina Doridoidei Doridoidea Doris pseudoargus

Doris pseudoargus

Doris pseudoargus (von Rapp, 1827)

Doris pseudoargus feeding on Amphilectus fucorum @ Isle of Man by Bernard Picton

Taxonomy
 

Superdomain

Biota  

 

Kingdom

Animalia  

 

Phylum

Mollusca  

 

Class

Gastropoda  

 

Subclass

Heterobranchia  

 

Infraclass

Euthyneura  

 

Subterclass

Ringipleura  

 

Superorder

Nudipleura  

 

Order

Nudibranchia  

 

Suborder

Doridina  

 

Infraorder

Doridoidei  

 

Superfamily

Doridoidea  

 

Family

Dorididae  

 

Genus

Archidoris  

 

Species

Archidoris pseudoargus   (Rapp, 1827)

 
 Classification according to Bouchet et al. (2017)
Taxonomic source: World Register of Marine Species (AphiaID: 138763).
Synonyms

  • Archidoris pseudoargus (Rapp, 1827)
  • Archidoris tuberculata (Müller, 1778) sensu Cuvier, 1804
  • Doris areolata Stuwitz, 1836 
  • Doris brittanica Johnston, 1838 
  • Doris flavipes Leuckart, 1828
  • Doris leuckarti Delle Chiaje, 1841
  • Doris leuckartii Delle Chiaje, 1841 
  • Doris mera Alder & Hancock, 1844 
  • Doris schembrii Vérany, 1846

Description
This is one of the largest doridaceans in European waters, as it can reach up to 12 cm long, but it is frequently found only 5-8 cm long. The body is oval and fairly flat. The color is very variable, predominantly yellowish or orange specimens with brown or reddish spots of different shades and sizes scattered throughout the notum. The mantle has many tightly placed rounded tubercles of different sizes. Larger tubercles may have other much smaller tubercles on their surface and spicules inside. In many specimens’ tubercles there are white granulations. The rhinophores have an alaminar, wide, whitish base and while the laminar portion is yellowish and has up to 30 very thin lamellae. The rhinophoric orifice is slightly elevated and tuberculate. The gill consists of 8-10 tripinnate gill leaves paler than the body color, the uppermost gill leaves’ finlets (pinnulae) may have brown or reddish-brown stains. The foot is wide and yellowish, like the underside of the mantle, which lacks all types of stains. The anterior part of the foot is furrowed and the mouth and has a pair of rounded expansions acting as oral palps.

Biology
This species of nudibranch is often found under rocks in the intertidal zones of the European Atlantic coasts. In the Mediterranean it is less common and lives in the infralittoral to a certain depth, also in commercial trawlers’ fishing grounds on the upper continental shelf. It has been cited feeding on sponges like Halichondria panicea, Hymeniacidon sanguinea, Myxilla incrustans, Suberites ficus and Tethya aurantia, among others (Urgorri & Besteiro, 1984; McDonald & Nybakken, 2009). The spawn consists in a spirally wound ribbon with yellow or orange eggs about 150 microns in diameter (Schmekel & Portmann, 1982). It is often infested by the copepod ectoparasite Doridicola agilis.

Etymology

  • Doris. In Greek mythology Doris was a sea nymph, one of the many children of Oceanus and Tethys, wife of Nereus and mother of the Nereids.
  • Pseudoargus. From Latin “pseudo”, false + “argus”, from the Greek Αργος (Argos), derived from αργος (argos) meaning “glistening, shining”. In Greek myth this name belonged to both the man who built the Argo and a man with a hundred eyes. For some time it was mistaken with Doris argus Philippi, 1844 nowadays a synonym of Platydoris argo, a different species, so the specific name was changed to pseudoargus, “false argo”.

Distribution
This species has a very wide distribution as it has been quoted from northern Europe, in Norway, to the Mediterranean Sea. In the Iberian Peninsula it has been reported in almost all coastal areas and in the Balearic islands(Cervera et al. 2004). In the coasts of Catalonia there are reports of this species in Llançà, in different trawling grounds like those near Blanes and Lloret de Mar, in front of Pineda de Mar and Malgrat, also in front of Barcelona and south down to the coast of Garraf, Sitges and Vilanova i la Geltrú.

Known georeferenced records of the species: Doris pseudoargus
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

Abundance

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

This chart displays the monthly observation probability for Doris pseudoargus based on our own records.

Videos

 

More pictures

Doris pseudoargus @ Blanes, Spain by Manuel Ballesteros
Doris pseudoargus @ Blanes, Spain by Manuel Ballesteros
Doris pseudoargus @ Blanes, Spain by Manuel Ballesteros
Doris pseudoargus @ France by Pascal Girard
Doris pseudoargus @ Sweden by Klas Malmberg
Doris pseudoargus @ Sweden by Klas Malmberg

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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. (2012-2025) "Doris pseudoargus" in OPK-Opistobranquis. Published: 16/05/2012. Accessed: 03/02/2025. Available at (https://opistobranquis.info/en/?p=482)