Felimare fontandraui

Felimare fontandraui (Pruvot-Fol, 1951)

Felimare fontandraui @ Costa Brava, Spain by Enric Madrenas by Enric Madrenas

Taxonomy
 

Superdomain

Biota  

 

Kingdom

Animalia  

 

Phylum

Mollusca  

 

Class

Gastropoda  

 

Subclass

Heterobranchia  

 

Infraclass

Euthyneura  

 

Subterclass

Ringipleura  

 

Superorder

Nudipleura  

 

Order

Nudibranchia  

 

Suborder

Doridina  

 

Infraorder

Doridoidei  

 

Superfamily

Chromodoridoidea  

 

Family

Chromodorididae  

 

Subfamily

Miamirinae  

 

Genus

Felimare  

 

Species

Felimare fontandraui  (Pruvot-Fol, 1951)

 
 Classification according to Bouchet et al. (2017)
Taxonomic source: World Register of Marine Species (AphiaID: 597820).

Taxonomic note: The European Atlantic and Mediterranean species of the genus Chromodoris and Hypselodoris have been reconsidered. After molecular analysis of the Chromodorididae performed by Johnson & Gosliner (2012, Traditional taxonomic groupings mask evolutionary history: A molecular phylogeny and new classification of the chromodorid nudibranchs. PLoS ONE 7(4): 33479) the Hypselodoris species have been included in the genus Felimare Ev. Marcus & Er. Marcus, 1967 and the Chromodoris species have been included in the genus Felimida Ev. Marcus, 1971.

Synonyms

  • Glossodoris fontandraui Pruvot-Fol, 1951 (original)
  • Hypselodoris fontandraui (Pruvot-Fol, 1951)

Description
This is one of the less frequent blue Felimare species and can reach a respectable size up to 45 mm in length. The background color of the body, depending on the specimens, ranges from light blue to purplish dark blue. The mantle is completely surrounded by a yellow band. In the center of the back there is a wide whitish or yellow dorsal line ranging from the gill sheath on the back to the rhinophores on the head, where it splits forming an anchor. This line could be continuous or not, more or less wide and may have irregular lateral extensions, and it completely surrounds the gill sheath near its base and continues behind, forming a short, sharp line. They can also be some elongated light blue spots on both sides of this middle dorsal line . The back usually has some rounded tubercles. Ortea et al. (1996) state the chromatic variability of this species according to the specimen’s size. The rhinophores are completely dark blue, the alaminar base is wide and semitransparent and may have yellow or whitish stains on both sides, while the laminar zone has from 13 to 15 lamellae. The terminal mucro of the rhinophore is underdeveloped. The rhinophoric sheath is somewhat elevated, coloured blue and with a slightly wavy upper edge. The sides of the body are coloured blue with a continuous yellow line, with other lines of the same colour in oblique position; sometimes a light blue dashed line runs above the middle line. The gill consists of six bipinnate dark blue leaves with a yellow or white rachis, both in the internal and external sides; gill sheath is high and has a smooth edge. The blue contractile anal papilla is located behind the base of the gill leaves. The foot is coloured light blue, somewhat widened in the front, on the rear side forms a dark blue tail, where the foot side lines converge on a single line.

Biology
This species lives in rocky walls or under stones with abundance of sponges and other invertebrates, from the intertidal zone to nearly a hundred feet deep. It has also been occasionally reported in Posidonia oceanica meadows (Templado, 1984). The animals are very active. It feeds on the sponge Dysidea avara. This species has no glandular structures in the mantle (Mantle Dermal Formations or MDFs) but nevertheless when the animals are disturbed they are capable of secreting a semitransparent liquid that may have defensive purposes of the type sesquiterpenoid (Àvila, 1993; Wägele et al. 2006). The spawn consists of a spirally wound ribbon with white eggs of about 115 microns diameter.

Etymology

  • Fontandraui. Latinisation of Font-Andreu, a place located at 5 km. to the south-southeast of Argelès-sur-Mer (France), very close to Banyuls-sur-Mer, location of an oceanographic station.

Distribution
F. fontandraui lives on the coasts of southern Europe: around the Mediterranean, along the coast of the Iberian Peninsula, Canary Islands and Azores (Cervera et al., 2004). In the Iberian Peninsula it has been recorded in all areas but in Galicia coast and the Andalusian Atlantic coast. In the Catalan coast it has been cited in places like Es Caials (Cadaqués), L’Escala, Cala Aiguafreda, Aigua-Xelida, Sa Tuna (Begur), in the Medes islands, Formigues islands, Tossa de Mar and Blanes.

Known georeferenced records of the species: Felimare fontandraui
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 Felimare fontandraui based on our own records.

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More pictures

Bibliography

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Further reading

Cite this article as:

Ballesteros, M., Madrenas, E. & Pontes, M. (2023) "Felimare fontandraui" in OPK-Opistobranquis. Published: 16/05/2012. Accessed: 19/03/2024. Available at (https://opistobranquis.info/en/?p=466)

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