Bermudella zoobotryon

Bermudella zoobotryon (Smallwood, 1910)

Bermudella zoobotryon (Smallwood, 1910) by OPK

Taxonomic note: Paz-Sedano et al (2024) phylogenetic analyses and species delimitation tests showed that Okenia longiductis Pola, Paz-Sedano, Macali, Minchin, Marchini, Vitale, Licchelli & Crocetta, 2019 and Okenia polycerelloides (Ortea & Bouchet, 1983) as the same species, and thus, O. longiductis is synonym of O. polycerelloides. The genus Bermudella (type species Polycerella zoobotryon / Bermudella zoobotryon (Smallwood, 1910)) was erected by Odhner (1941) to separate the species Polycera zoobotryon based on the presence of a buccal bulb and the shape of the teeth, which was similar to Goniodorididae. Bermudella species have simple, short, and digitiform papillae, homogenously distributed along the sides of the body. Also, few dorsal papillae with similar shape to lateral ones are present, sparse lamellae in rhinophores, and digitiform oral tentacles. A previous morphological assessment also clustered B. brunneomaculata, B. angelensis, B. pellucida, and B. zoobotryon based on the similarities between the oral tentacles and the sparse rhinophoral lamellae (Gosliner, 2004). Rudman (2004) grouped the Bermudella species based on the feeding source: ctenostome bryozoans (i.e., species of Amathia Lamouroux, 1812). Thus, Paz-Sedano et al (2024) suggest transferring all these species to Bermudella until new material is sequenced.

Synonyms

• Polycerella zoobotryon Smallwood, 1910 (original)
• Okenia zoobotryon (Smallwood, 1910)

Description

Biology

Etymology

• Bermudella. Related to the Bermuda archipelago. “-ella” Latin suffix is a diminutive because of the small size of these animals.
• Zoobotryon. A genus of colonial bryozoan with a bush-like structure, on which apparently this Okenia feeds.

Distribution
Pola (2015) redescribes Bermudella zoobotryon and also proposes a neotype for it. This author commented us that this species has a strictly Caribbean distribution (Bermuda island, its type locality, and Cuba) and that citations of this species around the world may correspond to a complex of cryptic species with a very similar morphology that must be molecularly analyzed. The specimens found in the Mare Piccolo (Salento, Italy) and the Costa Brava (Catalonia, Spain) correspond to Bermudella polycerelloides Ortea & Bouchet, 1983.

More pictures

We have no (more) pictures for Bermudella zoobotryon

Bibliography

1246567 Bermudella zoobotryon 1 eunomia-revista-en-cultura-de-la-legalidad 50 creator asc 1 17177 https://opistobranquis.info/wp-content/plugins/zotpress/
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

• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BiologiaMarina.org
• Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera
• NCBI GenBank
• OBIS - Search by Taxon
• Salento Sommerso
• SeaSlug Forum
• Wikipedia
• World Register of Marine Species

Cite this article as: