Home Guide to Opisthobranchs Nudibranchia Doridina Doridoidei Doridoidea Felimida binza

Felimida binza

Felimida binza (Ev. Marcus & Er. Marcus, 1963)

Felimida binza @ 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

Doridina  

 

Infraorder

Doridoidei  

 

Superfamily

Chromodoridoidea  

 

Family

Chromodorididae  

 

Subfamily

Chromodoridinae  

 

Genus

Felimida  

 

Species

Felimida binza  (Ev. Marcus & Er. Marcus, 1963)

 
 Classification according to Bouchet et al. (2017)
Taxonomic source: World Register of Marine Species (AphiaID: 597414).

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.

This species was known as Felimida britoi. Its status has been discussed by some authors, like Gosliner (1990), who considered it a synonym of the Caribbean species F. clenchi. Ortea et al. (1994) reviewed the chromodorididae species of the group with a similar color to clenchi (F. clenchi, F. neona, F. binza, F. britoi) and concluded that they were all different species. Later, Valdés (2000) suggested that F. binza and F. britoi probably are the same species, something that seems confirmed after the paper by Padula et al. (2016) with the results of molecular analysis. Both WoRMS and CLEMAM still consider F. britoi as valid species.

Synonyms

  • Chromodoris britoi Ortea & Pérez, 1983 (original)
  • Felimida britoi (Ortea & Pérez, 1983)

Description
The body background color of this spectacular chromodoridid species can be pink, blue or violet blue and the animal can reach a size of about 20 mm in length. It is easily distinguished from other species of the same genus by the golden dorsal longitudinal bands: there are three bands, the central one can be somewhat paler, even white, with the outer edge just delineated in golden yellow. The two sidebands usually have a somewhat irregular path, can even be fragmented and they could connect to the center line in its medium zone. The sidebands are joined together on the back, and ahead of the rhinophores on the front side, also connecting with the central band. This central line forks on the rear side, completely surrounding the base of the gill sheath. The mantle margin is quite wide, coloured yellow and there is a broad whitish band inside. There may also be deep purple spots near the edge of the mantle and along its full contour. The design of the yellow stripes on the back may vary slightly from one animal to another. On the back there are very small, semitransparent, spaced conical tubercles with a rounded apex, that could be of different sizes. The rhinophores are of the same color of the body, with the back side of the rachis coloured in a lighter shade in some specimens, and have 16-20 lamellae; the rhinophoric sheath is slightly raised and its upper edge is smooth. The gill consists of about 10 semitransparent unipinnate gill leaves, with the rachis coloured purple or bluish. When the animal moves the gill leaves remain upright and tight together. The anal papilla is white and is located right in the center of the gill crown. The foot is pink but the darker viscera could be seen in its rear half by transparency, its front part is widened and its anterior lip is split. The mouth has a pair of finger-like palps. A short tail slightly protrudes from the mantle behind the foot, and has a longitudinal dorsal yellow band.

Biology
This species is relatively common in the western Mediterranean shores in scyaphyllic rocky substrates with sponges and under stones. Presents defensive glands (MDF’s) located in the white band around the mantle, containing secondary metabolites of diterpenoid type, possibly obtained from the sponges this species feeds on (Àvila, 1993). The spawn consists of a semitransparent ribbon wound in an spiral of two turns and a half and about 20 mm in diameter; the ribbon is about 2 mm high and contains white eggs arranged in lines forming two layers, having 9-10 eggs in each line.

Etymology

  • Binza. The etymology of the specific name is unknown. The Marcuses are known by usually not giving explanations about the names of the species they described.

Distribution
After the original description of this species in the waters of the Canary Islands (Ortea & Pérez, 1983), this species has been observed in Madeira, the Azores and the Iberian Peninsula, were it is reported in the Basque coast, Strait of Gibraltar and the Mediterranean coast (Cervera et al. 2004). It seems to be common in the Gulf of Naples and Sicily (Cattaneo-Vietti et al. 1990). It has also been cited in the Balearic Islands (Darder, 2011). In the Catalan coast it has been often cited in many locations of the Costa Brava like Es Caials, Cadaqués, L’Escala, Tossa de Mar, Cala Llevadó and Blanes.

Known georeferenced records of the species: Felimida binza
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 Felimida binza based on our own records.

Videos

 

More pictures

Felimida binza by Enric Madrenas
Felimida binza by Enric Madrenas
Felimida binza by Enric Madrenas
Felimida binza by Enric Madrenas
Felimida binza by Enric Madrenas
Felimida binza @ Tarifa 9-05-2015 by Manuel Martínez Chacón
Felimida binza @ Sicily, Italy by Lara Orselli
Felimida binza @ France by Pascal Girard
Felimida binza @ France by Pascal Girard
Felimida binza @ Costa Brava, Spain by Miquel Pontes
Felimida binza @ Costa Brava, Spain by Miquel Pontes
Felimida binza @ Costa Brava, Spain by Miquel Pontes
Felimida binza @ Costa Brava, Spain by Miquel Pontes
Felimida binza @ Costa Brava, Spain by Miquel Pontes

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. (2012-2025) "Felimida binza" in OPK-Opistobranquis. Published: 15/05/2012. Accessed: 03/02/2025. Available at (https://opistobranquis.info/en/?p=428)