Doriopsilla pelseneeri (d’Oliveira, 1895)
WoRMS Taxonomic Information
Current classification
| Superdomain | Biota |
|---|---|
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Mollusca |
| Class | Gastropoda |
| Subclass | Heterobranchia |
| Infraclass | Euthyneura |
| Subterclass | Ringipleura |
| Superorder | Nudipleura |
| Order | Nudibranchia |
| Suborder | Doridina |
| Infraorder | Doridoidei |
| Superfamily | Phyllidioidea |
| Family | Dendrodorididae |
| Genus | Doriopsilla |
| Species | Doriopsilla pelseneeri d'Oliveira, 1895 |
- Dendrodoris minima Pruvot-Fol, 1951
- Dendrodoris racemosa Pruvot-Fol, 1951
Description
This species can reach up to 50 mm in length. The most characteristic morphology of this species are the well spaced tubercles that cover the entire back, which are hemispherical or slightly pointed, with the ones at the center of the back slightly larger than those at the margins. The coloration of the animal is highly variable and can change of color with age, some specimens are nearly white, others are yellow, pink or deep red orange, which generally are larger. The lighter colored ones often reveal creamy colored internal viscera, by transparency. The rhinophores are small and coloured as the rest of the body, but they are somewhat translucent at the base, where they have no lamellae. Gills consists of 5 tripinnate gill leaves that also share the colour of the body; branchial sheath is slightly elevated and all specimens, including the whitish, shown a thin opaque white circle on top of it. The foot is of the same colour of the body and under the mantle there can be observed thin spicules arranged as large cells.
Biology
Very little is known about the biology of this species. On the Atlantic coast it has been found associated with red sponge Phorbas fictitius keeping homocromy with reddish specimens, but it has not been proven that D. pelseneeri feeds on it; if so the nudibranch could extract the pigment from the sponge body. Like all dendrodoridids this species has no radula in the oral cavity, so it feeds by sucking the food substrate via buccal bulb. Because of the tubercles on the back it could be “roughly” confused with Doris verrucosa, but in this gray-brown species, the tubercles are higher and also the rhinophoric and branchial sheaths have thick tubercles as well.
Etymology
- Doriopsilla, genus described by Rudolf Bergh in 1880 in his paper “Die Doriopsen des Mittelmeeres”. Doriopsilla derives from Doris, a sea nymph in the Greek mythology + “-opsis”, “similar to” o “shaped like” + “-illa”, a diminutive. The final meaning would be “shaped like a small Doris”.
- Pelseneeri. In honor to Dr. Jean Paul Louis Pelseneer, (1863-1945), Belgian chemistry teacher and keen amateur malacologist from Brussels, Belgium. He has several dedicated animal species.
Distribution
This species is only known from the Iberian Peninsula, mainly on the Atlantic coast. It has also been cited in the Andalusian coast and in the French Basque country. In Catalonia it has only been cited in commercial trawl fisheries off Blanes.
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Abundance
| Western Mediterranean: | ☆☆☆☆☆ |
| Eastern Mediterranean: | ☆☆☆☆☆ |
| Atlantic Ocean: | ☆☆☆☆☆ |
This chart displays the monthly observation probability for Doriopsilla pelseneeri based on our own records.
More pictures
Bibliography
Further reading
Cite this article as:
Ballesteros, M., Madrenas, E. & Pontes, M. (2025) "Doriopsilla pelseneeri" in OPK-Opistobranquis. Published: 28/08/2012. Accessed: 13/09/2026. Available at (https://opistobranquis.info/en/?p=2203)
