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Geitodoris portmanni

Geitodoris portmanni  (Schmekel, 1972)

Geitodoris portmanni @ Costa Brava 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

Doridoidea  

 

Family

Discodorididae  

 

Genus

Geitodoris  

 

Species

Geitodoris portmanni  (Schmekel, 1972)

 
 Classification according to Bouchet et al. (2017)
Taxonomic source: World Register of Marine Species (AphiaID: 139581).
Synonyms

  • Carryodoris portmanni Schmekel, 1972

Description
This is a doridacean with a very flattened body and a leathery and spongy texture, reaching 15-20 mm in length. Its color ranges from bright yellowish, dull yellow or even slightly reddish, the middle of the dorsum could be somewhat darker because of the internal viscera. On the dorsum there can be small whitish scores on the tips of some tubercles. There may also be small brown spots at the glandular openings. The mantle is wide and there are numerous, well spaced, small conical tubercles with rounded apex on the dorsum. The spongy texture of the back of the animal is because of a fine grid of light-colored spicules that seem to converge in tubercles in a starry way; binocular microscope allows to see that the stellate reticulum also invades the tubers, converging towards their apexes. The rhinophores base color is pale, the base is yellowish and the laminar portion (with 14-15 lamellae) scattered with brown grains, their apex is mace-shaped and white. The rhinophores are spiculous. The rhinophoric sheath is high and its upper edge has about 11-15 somewhat irregular whitish tubercles that fold together when the rhinophores are fully retracted, closing the sheath orifice. The gill consists of about 6 yellowish tripinnate leaves with brown spots on the central rachis. Gill sheath is rather high and its upper edge is scalloped. The gill leaves head backwards when extended. The foot is yellow and without spots while the sides of the body have very thin brown markings. The foot is lined and cleft on the anterior side and the oral tentacles are well developed.

Biology
Very little is known of this rare species of nudibranch, it is commonly found below stones from a few meters of water down to 40 m (Schmekel & Portmann, 1982). It has also been reported on the Bryopsis algae at 27 m deep (Marin & ros, 1987).

Etymology

  • Geitodoris. From Greek “geitonos”, neighbor (meaning close or similar) + “Doris”, in Greek mythology, the wife of Nereus, a sea nymph and mother of the Nereids.
  • Portmanni. Dedicated to the Swiss zoologist Prof. Adolf Portmann, (1897-1982), who worked on Mediterranean nudibranchs, coauthor of the book “Opisthobranchia des Mittelmeeres”.

Distribution
There are very few known reports of this rare species. Originally described by Marechiaro in the Gulf of Naples, it has only been found in the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula (Cervera et al. 2004). In Catalonia it has been observed in a few locations of the Costa Brava: L’Estartit, L’Escala, El Port de la Selva or Cadaqués.

Known georeferenced records of the species: Geitodoris portmanni
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 Geitodoris portmanni based on our own records.

More pictures

Geitodoris portmanni @ Cala Taballera 25/10/2014 by Miquel Pontes
Geitodoris portmanni by Enric Madrenas
Geitodoris portmanni by Enric Madrenas
Geitodoris portmanni by Enric Madrenas
Geitodoris portmanni
Geitodoris portmanni by Enric Madrenas
Geitodoris portmanni by Enric Madrenas

Bibliography

    Avila C. 1995. Natural products of opisthobranch molluscs: a biological review. Oceanography and Mar Biol: an Annual Review 33: 487-559.
    Ballesteros M. 2007. Lista actualizada de los opistobranquios (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Opisthobranchia) de las costas catalanas. Spira. 2(3):163–188.
    Ballesteros M, Madrenas E, Pontes M. 2016. Actualización del catálogo de los moluscos opistobranquios (Gastropoda: Heterobranchia) de las costas catalanas. Spira. 6:1–28.
    Ballesteros M, Pontes M, Madrenas E. 2019. Els nudibranquis del mar català. Figueres: Brau Edicions. 192 p.
    Ballesteros M, Madrenas E, Pontes M. 2025. OPK - Opistobranquis. Available from https://opistobranquis.info/.
    Bedulli D, Cattaneo-Vietti R, Chemello R, et al. 1995. Gastropoda Opisthobranchia, Divasibranchia, Gymnomorpha, Fascicolo 15, pp. 1-23.  In: A. Minelli, A. Ruffo, & S. La Posta (Eds.). Checklist delle specie fauna italiana. Bologna: Calderini (Checklist delle specie della Fauna Italiana).
    Cattaneo-Vietti R, Thompson TE. 1989. Mediterranean opisthobranch molluscs: a zoogeographic approach. Bollettino Malacologico (Pubblicazione Mensile Edita dalla Societa Italiana di Malacologia) 25(5-8):183-204.
    Cattaneo-Vietti R, Chemello R, Giannuzzi-Savelli R. 1990. Atlas of Mediterranean Nudibranchs. Rome, Italy: La Conchiglia. 264 p.
    Cervera JL, Templado J, García-Gómez JC, et al. 1988. Catálogo actualizado y comentado de los Opistobranquios (Mollusca, Gastropoda) de la Península Ibérica, Baleares y Canarias, con algunas referencias a Ceuta y la isla de Alborán. Iberus, supl. 1: 1-84.
    Cervera JL, Calado G, Gavaia C, et al. 2004. An annotated and updated checklist of the opisthobranchs (Mollusca: Gastropoda) from Spain and Portugal (including islands and archipelagos). Boletín Instituto Español de Oceanografía, 20 (1-4): 1-111. L.
    Domènech A, Avila C, Ballesteros M. 2002. Spatial and Temporal variability of the Opisthobranch molluscs of Port Lligat Bay (Catalonia, NE Spain). Journ. Moll. Stud., 68:29-37.
    Furfaro G, Vitale F, Licchelli C, et al. 2020. Two Seas for One Great Diversity: Checklist of the Marine Heterobranchia (Mollusca; Gastropoda) from the Salento Peninsula (South-East Italy). Diversity. 12(12):171.
    Garcia FJ, Bertsch H. 2009. Diversity and distribution of the Gastropoda Opisthobranchia from the Atlantic Ocean: A global biogeographic approach. Scientia Marina. 73(1):153–160. https://doi.org/10.3989/scimar.2009.73n1153.
    Long SJ. 2006. Bibliography of Opisthobranchia 1554-2000. Bayside Books & Press, Tustin, CA, U.S.A. 672p.
    Marín A, Ros J. 1987. Catálogo preliminar de los gasterópodos marinos del sudeste español. Iberus 7 (1): 137-145.
    McDonald G. 2009. Bibliographia Nudibranchia. 2nd Online Edition, Annotated. 1072 pp  Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz. Available from http://escholarship.org/uc/item/8115h0wz.
    Ocaña Martín A, Sánchez Tocino L, López González S, et al. 2000. Guía submarina de invertebrados no artrópodos. Granada: Comares.
    Ortea J, Ballesteros M. 1981. A new Doridacea from the Iberian and Balearic littoral: Geitodoris bonosi n. sp. Journal of Molluscan Studies 47 (3): 337-342.
    Perrone AS. 1984. Contributo alla conoscenza di Geitodoris (Carryodoris) portmanni (Schmekel, 1970) (Opisthobranchia: Nudibranchia). Bollettino Malacologico 20(5-8):139-150, 13 figs.
    Prkić J, Petani A, Iglić Ð, et al. 2018. Stražnjoškržnjaci Jadranskoga Mora: Slikovni Atlas i Popis Hrvatskih Vrsta / Opisthobranchs of the Adriatic Sea: Photographic Atlas and List of Croatian Species. Bibinje: Ronilaćki Klub Sveti Roko. 464 p. Available from https://opistobranquis.info/en/recursos/llibres-recomanats/opisthobranchs-of-the-adriatic-sea/.
    Sabelli B, Gianuzzi-Savelli R, Bedulli D. 1990. Catalogo annotato dei Molluschi marini del Mediterraneo. Libreria Naturalistica Bolognese. Bologna, Italy: 348 pp.
    Sánchez Tocino L, Ocaña A, Cervera JL. 2006. Geitodoris pusae (Marcus, 1955) y Geitodoris  bacalladoi Ortea, 1990, dos especies de Doridoidea (Mollusca: Nudibranchia) nuevas para el Mar  Mediterraneo. Iberus, Revista de la Sociedad Española de Malacologia 24(1):5-12.
    Sánchez Tocino L, Ocaña A, García FJ. 2000. Contribución al conocimiento de los moluscos opistobranquios de la costa de Granada (sureste de la Península Ibérica). Iberus 18(1):1-14.
    Schmekel L. 1972. Eine neue Art der verschollen Gattung Carryodoris Vayssière, 1919 aus dem Golf von Neapel (Carryodoris portmanni n. sp.) (Gastr. Nudibr.). Pubblicazioni della Stazione Zoologica di Napoli 38: 370-377 [Sebbene il frontespizio rechi il millesimo.
    Templado J, Villanueva R. 2010. Checklist of Phylum Mollusca. pp. 148-198 In Coll, M., et al., 2010. The biodiversity of the Mediterranean Sea: estimates, patterns, and threats. PLoS ONE 5(8):36pp.
    Trainito E, Doneddu M. 2014. Nudibranchi del Mediterraneo. 2nd. Il Castello. 192 p.
    WoRMS Editorial Board. 2025. World Register of Marine Species. WoRMS. Available from http://www.marinespecies.org.

    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) "Geitodoris portmanni" in OPK-Opistobranquis. Published: 11/09/2014. Accessed: 03/02/2025. Available at (https://opistobranquis.info/en/?p=14068)