Pelagella castanea (Alder & Hancock, 1845)
WoRMS Taxonomic Information
Current classification
| Superdomain | Biota |
|---|---|
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Mollusca |
| Class | Gastropoda |
| Subclass | Heterobranchia |
| Infraclass | Euthyneura |
| Subterclass | Ringipleura |
| Superorder | Nudipleura |
| Order | Nudibranchia |
| Suborder | Doridida |
| Infraorder | Doridoidei |
| Superfamily | Onchidoridoidea |
| Family | Goniodorididae |
| Subfamily | Goniodoridinae |
| Genus | Pelagella |
| Species | Pelagella castanea (Alder & Hancock, 1845) |
- Doris pareti Vérany, 1846
- Goniodoris brunnea, Macnae, 1958
- Goniodoris castanea (Alder & Hancock, 1845)
Description
The general coloration of the animal is reddish brown. The size of specimens can reach about 40 mm in length, but most of the animals measure 15 to 20 mm. The body is high with a flattened dorsum separated from the hiponotum by a margin, somewhat darker than the rest of the body. The cephalic region is has a bilobed veil ending with two tentacles that have a dorsal crest and small conical tubercles. The dorsum of the animal, the head, the body walls and the end of the feet also have these conical tubercles, somewhat lighter coloured than the rest of the body. In the center of the dorsum and tail, the alignment of the tubercles form characteristic longitudinal ridges. The rhinophores are high and whitish in color, have a dozen lamellae mottled with brown scores with a small cylindrical rhinophoric apex. The eyes are located below the base of the rhinophores, in the side wall of the head. There are 8 dark brown tripinnate gill leaves arranged in a horseshoe, one of them facing forward and the other facing sideways or backwards. The anal papilla is located in the center of the gill leaves.
Biology
This species is mainly found in shallow water, under stones that have colonial tunicates like Botrylloides leachi and Botryllus schlosseri, or the individual ascidian Ascidia mentula, from which it feeds.
Etymology
- Doris, marine nymph of the Greek mythology.
- Pelagella, classic authors usually did not explain the inspiration of the names they assigned. Could be related to Greek πέλαγος (pélagos, “sea”). Suffix “-ella” is a diminutive.
- Castanea, chestnut coloured.
Distribution
It is distributed across all the Atlantic and Mediterranean European coasts. In the Iberian Peninsula it has been recorded in all the coasts and the Balearic and Canary islands. In the Catalan coast it has been observed in very few locations, most probably because it is very difficult to distinguish due to its camouflage on the substrate.
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Abundance
| Western Mediterranean: | ★☆☆☆☆ |
| Eastern Mediterranean: | ★☆☆☆☆ |
| Atlantic Ocean: | ★★☆☆☆ |
This chart displays the monthly observation probability for Pelagella castanea based on our own records.
More pictures
Bibliography
Further reading
- AsturNatura
- Biodiversity Heritage Library
- BiologiaMarina.org
- DORIS
- El Litoral de Granada
- Encyclopedia of Marine Life of Britain and Ireland
- Estran 22 - Faune et flore de la zone de balancement des marées en Côtes d'Armor
- European Sea Slugs by Morddyn
- Flickr pictures
- GROC
- Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera
- MedSlugs (Med)
- NCBI GenBank
- OBIS - Search by Taxon
- Opisthobranchs of Kii peninsula
- Scottish Nudibranchs
- Sea Slug Forum
- The Conchological Society of Great Britain and Ireland
- World Register of Marine Species
Cite this article as:
Ballesteros, M., Madrenas, E. & Pontes, M. (2025) "Pelagella castanea" in OPK-Opistobranquis. Published: 14/06/2012. Accessed: 03/09/2026. Available at (https://opistobranquis.info/en/?p=1742)
