Ancula gibbosa

Ancula gibbosa (Risso, 1818)

• Ancula cristata (Alder, 1841)
• Ancula pacifica MacFarland, 1964
• Ancula sulphurea Stimpson, 1853
• Polycera cristata Alder, 1841
• Tritonia gibbosa Risso, 1818 (original)

Description
Species of about 20-30 mm long, with an almost transparent white body, with the tip of the oral tentacles, rhinophores, dorsal papillae and gill leaves coloured yellow. There is also a yellow line on the dorsal part of the tail. Some animals have no yellow markings and are completely white. The rhinophores have well developed lamellae, the basal ones are white and the upper ones are yellow. In front of the rhinophores there is a pair of elongated papillae and there are also 5-6 elongated papillae surrounding the gill leaves that, in number 4-5, are located in the central part of the body.

Biology
It is found under stones and on surfaces with colonies of invertebrates on which entoprocta may grow. It seems that this species feeds on small entoprocta polyps (Phyllum Kamptozoa) like Pedicellina cernua that grows on top of bryozoans, hydrozoans or tunicate colonies.

Etymology

• Ancula. From Greek “agkyle”, hunched object.
• Gibbosa. From Latin “gibbosus”, derived from “gibba”, meaning “hunch”.

Distribution
It is a widely distributed species, initially described in the Mediterranean on the coast of Nice (France), it has also been observed in all the continental European Atlantic coasts, Iceland, Greenland and even in the Atlantic coast of North America. In Catalonia it is a rare species and it has been reported only in ships’ fouling in the port of Barcelona.

Known georeferenced records of the species: Ancula gibbosa

Sources:
OBIS GROC 2010-2011 Enric Madrenas João Pedro Silva Bernard Picton GBIF	OPK VIMAR Manuel Ballesteros M@re Nostrum Altres fonts Marine Regions

More pictures

Ancula gibbosa by Alexander Semenov

Ancula gibbosa by Alexander Semenov

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

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