Home Guide to Opisthobranchs Nudibranchia Doridina Doridoidei Onchidoridoidea Okenia miramarae

Okenia miramarae

Okenia miramarae  Ortea & Espinosa, 2001

Okenia miramarae @ Taliarte, Gran Canaria by Pablo Samper Méndez

Taxonomy
 

Superdomain

Biota  

 

Kingdom

Animalia  

 

Phylum

Mollusca  

 

Class

Gastropoda  

 

Subclass

Heterobranchia  

 

Infraclass

Euthyneura  

 

Subterclass

Ringipleura  

 

Superorder

Nudipleura  

 

Order

Nudibranchia  

 

Suborder

Doridina  

 

Infraorder

Doridoidei  

 

Superfamily

Onchidoridoidea  

 

Family

Goniodorididae  

 

Subfamily

Goniodoridinae  

 

Genus

Goniodoridella  

 

Species

Goniodoridella miramarae   (Ortea & Espinosa, 2000)

 
 Classification according to Bouchet et al. (2017)
Taxonomic source: World Register of Marine Species (AphiaID: 1723476).
Description
Species with a white opaque body, translucent on the periphery. All the body processes, the rhinophores and the gills have yellow or orange colored tips. In the anterior part of the body there is a cephalic veil with four appendages, two located in the anterior part, and two flanking the rhinophores by the outer side. At the sides of the body there are two or three appendages, the anterior ones are similar to those of the head, and two very long ones flanking the gill. In front of the gill there is an appendix of similar length to the ones on the front, arranged vertically on the body. The rhinophores are relatively long and have about eight lamellae on the posterior side, more evident in the basal part, and decreasing in size towards the apex, where they look like mere thickenings of the stem. The gill is composed by four unipinnate leaves coming out of three peduncles, since the two inner leaves are joined at the base and share the peduncle. Each branchial leaf has 5-6 spaced lamellae which do not reach the apex. Behind the gill there is a pinkish-purple spot.

Biology
Although its food source is unknown, it is feasible that this species feeds of small bryozoans like other species of Okenia. The spawn consists of a little mass of small white eggs, attached to the substrate. The long appendages that flank the gill are very characteristic for this species, and when the animal is moving they stretch and surpass the end of the tail. In general the whole body of the animal and its appendages stretch and look more stylized when it moves, and contract when it is at rest.

Etymology

  • Okenia. In honor to Prof. Dr. Ludwig Gilbert Lorenz Oken, (1779-1851), German natural phylosopher, editor of the journal “Isis” and published of the book “Lehrbuch der Naturgeschichte”.
  • Miramarae, to the type locality for the species, Miramar quarter in La Habana, Cuba.

Distribution
After its original description in Cuban waters, only three other reports are known, all in Taliarte, Gran Canaria (Canary Islands), where this species seems to be well established.

Known georeferenced records of the species: Okenia miramarae
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 Okenia miramarae based on our own records.

More pictures

Okenia miramarae @ Taliarte, Gran Canaria 23/03/2016
Okenia miramarae @ Taliarte, Gran Canaria 23/03/2016 by José Juan Calderín Peñate
Okenia miramarae @ Taliarte, Gran Canaria 23/03/2016 by José Juan Calderín Peñate

Bibliography

    Ballesteros M, Madrenas E, Pontes M. 2025. OPK - Opistobranquis. Available from https://opistobranquis.info/.
    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.
    Moro L, Ortea J, Bacallado JJ. 2016. Nuevas citas y nuevos datos anatómicos de las babosas marinas (Mollusca: Heterobranchia) de las islas Canarias y su entorno. Revista de la Academia Canaria de las Ciencias., 48: 9-52.
    Ortea JA, Espinosa J. 2000. Nueva especie del género Okenia Menke, 1830 (Mollusca: Nudibranchia) de Cuba. Avicennia, Revista de Oceanología, Ecología y Biodiversidad Tropical 12-13:84-86.
    Valdés Á, Ortea J. 1995. Revised taxonomy of some species of the genus Okenia Menke, 1830 (Mollusca: Nudibranchia) from the Atlantic Ocean, with the description of a new species. The Veliger, 38(3): 223-234.
    Vallès Y, Valdés Á, Ortea J. 2000. On the phanerobranch dorids of Angola (Mollusca, Nudibranchia): a crossroads of temperate and tropical species. Zoosystema 22(1): 15-31.
    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:

Pontes, Miquel (2012-2025) "Okenia miramarae" in OPK-Opistobranquis. Published: 19/11/2016. Accessed: 03/02/2025. Available at (https://opistobranquis.info/en/?p=22866)