Guide to Opisthobranchs Nudibranchia Doridina Doridoidei Doridoidea Paradoris indecora

Paradoris indecora

Paradoris indecora (Bergh, 1881)

Paradoris indecora 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	Paradoris
	Species	Paradoris indecora (Bergh, 1881)

	Classification according to Bouchet et al. (2017) Taxonomic source: World Register of Marine Species (AphiaID: 139586).

Synonyms

Discodoris cavernae (Starmühlner, 1955)
Discodoris indecora Bergh, 1881 (original)
Discodoris porri (Vérany, 1846)
Doris porri Vérany, 1846
Paradoris cavernae Starmülhner, 1955
Paradoris granulata Bergh, 1884

Description
Specimens measure from 20 to 30 mm but literature shows that this species can reach up to 40 mm in length. The body is flattened and oval contoured. The general body color is gray or brown, more or less dark, sometimes with violet tones. There are small clear and black spots scattered around the dorsum, sometimes grouped together forming patches of these colors that match glandular openings. Rounded tubercles of different sizes but well spaced are scattered on the notum; large tubercles may have a cream coloured apex due to concentration of light spots. The binocular microscope shows tiny spikes protruding from the apex of the tubercles. The rhinophores are semitransparent at their base and the laminar portion has 10-16 brown spotted yellowish lamellae. The rhinophores terminal mucro is slightly developed. The rhinophoric orifice has a slightly elevated sheath that is slightly lobed (8-10 lobes) on the top edge; the rhinophoric sheath also has a few small tubercles. Gill consists of 6-8 tripinnate grayish or brown gill leaves, of the same colour of the body, with a semitransparent central shaft and with the end of the gill ramifications coloured cream or yellowish. Gill sheath, as the rhinophores’ sheath, is also high and lobed at its upper edge. As a characteristic feature, the gill leaves head backwards when extended. The anal papilla is located in the center of the gill leaves. The head has two short brown spotted oral tentacles that are cleft in their lower side. The foot and the underside of the mantle are coloured whitish with scattered reddish brown spots. The flanks of the foot also have the same colour spots. The mantle is very spiculous and radial arranged spiculae and crossing spiculae can be seen in the underside. The foot has a cleft and furrowed leading edge, while viscera can be seen as a blackish stain in the midsection.

Biology
This doridacean usually lives in shallow water, on the underside of rocks and near sponges like Ircinia fasciculata or Dysidea fragilis, on which it apparently feeds (Ortea, 1995). The animals of this species move very slowly and when disturbed they are capable of secreting a defensive whitish substance that forms a diffuse cloud around the animal. The spawn is a semitransparent strip about 5 mm high laid in a spiral of 4-5 turns; The eggs are white and measure about 165 microns on average (Ortea, 1995).

Etymology

Indecora. From Latin “indecore”, improperly, inglorious, shameful, ugly, unbecoming, unseemly.

Distribution
This species is distributed throughout the Mediterranean, from Israel to the Strait of Gibraltar. It has also been cited in all the Iberian Peninsula but Cantabria and Galicia, in the archipelago of Cape Verde, the Canary islands and the Balearic islands. In the Catalan coast it has been reported on the Costa Brava in locations like Cala Fredosa, Cala Sant Antoni, Es Caials (Cadaqués), L’Escala, Cala Aigua-Xelida, Cala Aiguafreda, Llafranc, Cala Margarida, Caleta de Palamos, Sant Feliu de Guixols and Tossa de Mar.

Known georeferenced records of the species: Paradoris indecora
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 Paradoris indecora based on our own records.

Videos

More pictures

Bibliography

Steve Long, 2006

Bibliography of Opisthobranchia 1554-2000

Gary McDonald, 2009

Bibliographia Nudibranchia

Further reading

Cite this article as:

Ballesteros, M., Madrenas, E. & Pontes, M. (2023) "Paradoris indecora" in OPK-Opistobranquis. Published: 16/05/2012. Accessed: 26/03/2023. Available at (https://opistobranquis.info/en/qkTEK)

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Paradoris indecora