Home Guide to Opisthobranchs Nudibranchia Doridina Doridoidei Doridoidea Doris sticta

Doris sticta

Doris sticta (Iredale & O’Donoghue, 1923)

Doris sticta, Skomer Island, Pembrokeshire, Wales. 22 June 1975 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

Doris  

 

Species

Doris sticta  (Iredale & O'Donoghue, 1923)

 
 Classification according to Bouchet et al. (2017)
Taxonomic source: World Register of Marine Species (AphiaID: 139622).
Synonyms

  • Archidoris maculata (Garstang, 1896)
  • Archidoris maculata lutea Vayssière, 1919
  • Doridigitata sticta Iredale & O’Donoghue, 1923 (original)
  • Doris eubalia Fischer P., 1872 
  • Doris maculata Garstang, 1896
  • Glossodoris dorbignii Gray, 1850

Description
This nudibranch can reach a size of more than 40 mm long. Its overall color is yellow or cream. Very large rounded tubercles outstand on the back, there are many smaller tubercles radiating raised ridges connecting them all, giving the appearance of a grid on the dorsum. The color of tubercles is usually dark brown or slightly purple. The size of the tubercles decreases from the center to the edges of the dorsum. The rhinophores are yellowish, the base is semi-transparent and there are twenty thin lamellae on its upper portion, while the terminal mucron is underdeveloped. The rhinophoric sheath has two thick tubercles like the ones on the dorsum, one on the outer side and another on the inner side. Gill is composed by 5-6 tripinnate yellow leaves coloured in a slightly lighter shade than the body. The foot is also yellow and the mouth has a pair of short oral palps.

Biology
Very little is known about this rare species of nudibranch. In the British coast it has been observed in the subtidal rocky bottoms with sponges and cnidarians like Corynactis viridis. In the Catalan coast it has appeared deeper in commercial trawl fishering grounds like those found in front of the town of Blanes (Domenech et al. 2006) and in front of Barcelona (Ballesteros, 1985). It is assumed that it feeds on sponges like Ciocalypta penicillus. The spawn is a spiral wound ribbon of two turns with white or slightly yellowish eggs.

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.
  • Sticta. Latinization of Greek “stiktē”, feminine of “stiktos”, tattooed, spotted.

Distribution
Very little is known about its presence but literature indicates that is distributed from the north of the British Isles to the Mediterranean Sea, also cited in the Atlantic coast of Morocco and Madeira. In the Iberian Peninsula it has been recorded in the Bay of Biscay, in Portugal, in the Strait of Gibraltar and Catalonia (in the trawling grounds in front of Blanes, and Barcelona).

Known georeferenced records of the species: Doris sticta
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 sticta based on our own records.

More pictures

Doris sticta Thorn Rock, Skomer Island, Pembrokeshire, Wales. 6 Aug 2009. – Photograph ©Bernard Picton
Doris sticta Laying spawn on the bryozoan Alcyonidium diaphanum. Thorn Rock, Skomer Island, Pembrokeshire, Wales. 6 Aug 2009. – Photograph ©Bernard Picton
Doris sticta Sark, Channel Isles. 24 June 2010. – Photograph ©Bernard Picton
Doris sticta by José Carlos García Gómez
Doris sticta @ Isola di Capraia, Arch. Tremiti, Italy 4-09-2010 by Rino Lubatti (CC BY NC)
Doris sticta @ Isola di Capraia, Arch. Tremiti, Italy 4-09-2010 by Rino Lubatti (CC BY NC)
Doris sticta @ Isola di Capraia, Arch. Tremiti, Italy 4-09-2010 by Rino Lubatti (CC BY NC)

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

Cite this article as:

Ballesteros, M., Madrenas, E. & Pontes, M. (2023) "Doris sticta" in OPK-Opistobranquis. Published: 13/08/2014. Accessed: 04/12/2023. Available at (https://opistobranquis.info/en/?p=12280)

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