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Okenia problematica

Okenia problematica Pola, Paz-Sedano, Macali, Minchin, Marchini, Vitale, Licchelli et Crocetta, 2019

Okenia problematica @ Gallipolli (Lecce, Italy) by Fabio Vitale

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  

 

Genus

Okenia  

 

Species

Okenia problematica  Pola, Paz-Sedano, Macali, Minchin, Marchini, Vitale, Licchelli & Crocetta, 2019

 
 Classification according to Bouchet et al. (2017)
Taxonomic source: World Register of Marine Species (AphiaID: 1343365).
Synonyms

  • Okenia impexa banyulensis Schmekel, 1979 (unavailable under ICZN Art. 15.1: name proposed conditionally after 1960)

Description
Elongated, translucent white body, covered with many and concentrated brown spots, with randomly scattered white-yellowish spots. The whole body is covered by conspicuous spicules, and it ends in a long and pointed translucent white tail covered with mostly white and scattered brown dots. The notal border is well developed, with 8 lateral papillae symmetrically distributed on each body side. Distribution of papillae is as follows: one located in front of rhinophores, one besides the rhinophores, four between the rhinophores and the gill, and two behind gill rising from same stalk. The shape and size of the papillae is slightly variable; the two papillae located at the front are long and finger-like, followed by a shorter one and then they subsequently increasing in size to the rear side of the body. All papillae located behind the rhinophores have a rounded widening at the tip, more evident in the papillae located behind the gill. There is a single papilla in the mid-dorsal line similar in shape and size to the ones on the sides, and also with a rounded tip. Rhinophores are long and slender, of the same colour pattern of the body, with 6–9 lamellae each on the distal portion. Gill is composed of four unipinnate branches surrounding the anus, the two located ahead sharing a common stalk. There are two short oral tentacles flanking the mouth. The foot is long and slender, coloured translucent white without any spots, and with two small but elongated propodial tentacles in the anterior side. Genitalia is located on the right side of the body, usually close to the rhinophore.

Biology
Okenia problematica seems to be common at depths below 10 m. The specimens collected in Gallipoli (Italy) were found on an artificial reef located on a sandy bottom, amidst unidentified hydrozoans and encrusting bryozoans. Templado (1982), Valdés & Ortea (1995), García-Gómez et al. (2011), and Ballesteros et al. (2016) mostly reported its cryptic presence in rocky infralittoral bottoms (~5–10 m) with the bryozoan Margaretta cereoides (Ellis & Solander, 1786). However, Schmekel (1979), Schmekel & Portmann (1982), Valdés & Ortea (1995), and Ballesteros et al. (2016) also reported its presence at 5–15 m depth on infralittoral algae such as Halimeda J.V.Lamouroux, 1812, those of the family Corallinaceae Lamouroux, 1812 and Codium vermilara (Olivi) Delle Chiaje, 1829.

Etimology

  • Problematica, due to its complex taxonomic history.

Distribution
Species has been described on specimens collected at Gallipoli (Lecce, Italy), Aiguafreda (Begur, Girona, Spain), and Cala Joncols (Roses, Girona, Spain). Literature records of Okenia cupella and Okenia impexa from the Mediterranean Sea also belong to this taxon.

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

Other pictures

Bibliography

    Ballesteros, M., M. Pontes, and E. Madrenas. 2019. Els nudibranquis del mar català. Brau Edicions, Figueres.
    Ballesteros, M., E. Madrenas, and M. Pontes. 2023. OPK - Opistobranquis. (https://opistobranquis.info/).
    Ballesteros, M., E. Madrenas, and M. Pontes. 2016. Actualización del catálogo de los moluscos opistobranquios (Gastropoda: Heterobranchia) de las costas catalanas. Spira. 6: 1–28.
    Bedulli, D., R. Cattaneo-Vietti, R. Chemello, F. Ghisotti, and F. Giovine. 1995. Gastropoda Opisthobranchia, Divasibranchia, Gymnomorpha, Fascicolo 15, pp. 1-23.  In: A. Minelli, A. Ruffo, & S. La Posta (Eds.). Checklist delle specie fauna italiana, Checklist delle specie della Fauna Italiana. Calderini, Bologna.
    Cattaneo-Vietti, R., and G. Barletta. 1984. Elenco preliminare dei molluschi opistobranchi viventi nel Mediterraneo (Sacoglossa, Pleurobranchomorpha, Acochlidiacea, Aplysiomorpha, Nudibranchia). Bollettino Malacologico (Pubblicazione Mensile Edita dalla Societa Italiana di Malacologia) 20(9-12):195-218.
    Cattaneo-Vietti, R., and T. E. Thompson. 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., R. Chemello, and R. Giannuzzi-Savelli. 1990. Atlas of Mediterranean Nudibranchs. La Conchiglia, Rome, Italy.
    Cervera, J. L., J. Templado, J. C. García-Gómez, M. Ballesteros, J. Ortea, F. J. García, J. Ros, and A. A. Luque. 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, J. L., G. Calado, C. Gavaia, M. A. E. Malaquías, J. Templado, M. Ballesteros, J. C. García-Gómez, and C. Megina. 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.
    Furfaro, G., F. Vitale, C. Licchelli, and P. Mariottini. 2020. Two Seas for One Great Diversity: Checklist of the Marine Heterobranchia (Mollusca; Gastropoda) from the Salento Peninsula (South-East Italy). Diversity. 12: 171.
    Lombardo, A., and G. Marletta. 2020. First record of Okenia problematica Pola, Paz-Sedano, Macali, Minchin, Marchini,Vitale, Licchelli et Crocetta, 2019 (Gastropoda Nudibranchia Goniodorididae)for Sicily (Ionian Sea,Italy). Biodiversity Journal. 11: 17–20.
    Long, S. J. 2006. Bibliography of Opisthobranchia 1554-2000. Bayside Books & Press, Tustin, CA, U.S.A. 672p.
    McDonald, G. 2009. Bibliographia Nudibranchia. 2nd Online Edition, Annotated. 1072 pp  Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz. (http://escholarship.org/uc/item/8115h0wz).
    Pola, M., S. Paz-Sedano, A. Macali, D. Minchin, A. Marchini, F. Vitale, C. Licchelli, and F. Crocetta. 2019. What is really out there? Review of the genus Okenia Menke, 1830 (Nudibranchia: Goniodorididae) in the Mediterranean Sea with description of two new species. PLoS ONE 14(5): e0215037.
    Sabelli, B., R. Gianuzzi-Savelli, and D. Bedulli. 1990. Catalogo annotato dei Molluschi marini del Mediterraneo. Libreria Naturalistica Bolognese. Bologna, Italy: 348 pp.
    Schmekel, L. 1979. First record of Okenia impexa Marcus, 1957 from the western Atlantic in the Mediterranean. Veliger 21(3):355-360.
    Schmekel, L., and A. Portmann. 1982. Opisthobranchia des Mittelmeeres, Nudibranchia und Saccoglossa. Fauna e Flora del Golfo Napoli. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
    Sordi, M. 1974. Nuova specie di mollusco nudibranchio del Mediterraneo: Okenia pusilla. Doriana 5 (216): 1-5.
    Templado, J. 1982. Datos sobre los opistobranquios del Cabo de Palos (Murcia). Bollettino Malacologico 18 (9-12): 247-254.
    Templado, J., and R. Villanueva. 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.
    Templado, J., A. A. Luque, and J. A. Ortea. 1991. A commented check-list of the amphiatlantic Ascoglossa and Nudibranchia (Mollusca: Opisthobranchia). Lavori della Societa Italiana di Malacologia 23:295-326.
    Valdés, Á., and J. Ortea. 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.
    Vicente, N. 2008. 100 & une limaces de mer : guide d’identification des Mollusques Opisthobranches d’Atlantique et de Méditerranée. Éd. GAP, Challes-les-Eaux.

    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, Manuel Ballesteros, Enric Madrenas (2023) "Okenia problematica" in OPK-Opistobranquis. Published: 29/11/2020. Accessed: 30/03/2023. Available at (https://opistobranquis.info/en/cxPaK)

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