Home Guide to Opisthobranchs Nudibranchia Doridina Doridoidei Polyceroidea Polycera faeroensis

Polycera faeroensis

Polycera faeroensis  Lemche, 1929

Polycera faeroensis @ Granada by Luis Sánchez-Tocino

Taxonomy
 

Superdomain

Biota  

 

Kingdom

Animalia  

 

Phylum

Mollusca  

 

Class

Gastropoda  

 

Subclass

Heterobranchia  

 

Infraclass

Euthyneura  

 

Subterclass

Ringipleura  

 

Superorder

Nudipleura  

 

Order

Nudibranchia  

 

Suborder

Doridina  

 

Infraorder

Doridoidei  

 

Superfamily

Polyceroidea  

 

Family

Polyceridae  

 

Subfamily

Polycerinae  

 

Genus

Polycera  

 

Species

Polycera faeroensis  Lemche, 1929

 
 Classification according to Bouchet et al. (2017)
Taxonomic source: World Register of Marine Species (AphiaID: 140834).
Taxonomical note: Korshunova et al (2021) published their work on Polycera quadrilineata complex, where four species from the European Atlantic shores were recognized, based on a multidisciplinary (molecular, morphological, phylogenetic, phylogeographical and ecological) approach to species determination. In this work, the authors determined that Polycera faeroensis reports included another cryptic species (new to science) that they have named Polycera kernowensis, that can be easily determined by the shape of the structure protecting the gills, one pair of single lateral processes in P. kernowensis, and one pair  of wing-like lateral lobes with multiple small tubercles or projections in P. faeroensis, among other anatomical differences.

Description
Body up to 45 mm long, smooth, semitransparent white with yellow / orange tipped appendages and yellow edge to the tail and foot. It generally lacks yellow spots on the dorsum and body sides, but there could be some. Frontal veil with 6-8 yellow oral tentacles, maximum 14. Ventrally, the head extends into broad oral flaps with some small irregular yellow marks. Rhinophores could be brownish and the distal part has between 18-19 lamellae, maximum 25. Gills are located behind the pericardium and composed of 6-7 branchial leaves, maximum 11. Protecting the gills there are a pair of characteristic wing-like lateral lobes with multiple small, yellow tubercles, more or less evident.

Polycera faeroensis (Pl.25) by Just & Edmunds (1985)

Polycera faeroensis (Pl.25) by Just & Edmunds (1985)

Biology
It lives in rocky bottoms down to 35m, despite in the Faroes it was reported at 120m of depth. It preys on bryozoans Membranipora membranacea, Crisia denticulata, other species of Crisia and the hydroid Hydrallmania falcata (Thompson & Brown, 1976). This species spawns in July in the Atlantic. The egg-string is a ribbon forming a simple coil attached to the substrate by one side, that is slightly widened.

Etymology

  • Polycera. From Greek “polys”, many + “keras”, horns.
  • Faeroensis. From the Faroe Islands (Denmark).

Distribution
Type specimen collected at the Faroe Islands in 1899, it has also been found in the coast of Sweden and the British Isles. Probably it can also be found in the coasts of Denmark and Netherlands. Also present in the Atlantic shores of Spain and Portugal, in the Northern shores of the Alboran Sea, and two records from Mallorca and Cadaqués (Spain).

Known georeferenced records of the species: Polycera faeroensis
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 Polycera faeroensis based on our own records.

More pictures

Polycera faeroensis @ Portugal by Joao Pedro Silva
Polycera faeroensis @ Portugal by Joao Pedro Silva
Polycera faeroensis @ Portugal by Joao Pedro Silva
Polycera faeroensis mating @ Portugal by Joao Pedro Silva
Radula of Polycera faeroensis by Luis Sánchez-Tocino
Polycera faeroensis @ Gibraltar Strait (Spain) by José Carlos García
Polycera faeroensis @ Netherlands 7-02-2017 by Stefan Verheyen
Polycera faeroensis (Pl.25) by Just & Edmunds (1985)
Polycera faeroensis @ The Maidens, Northern Ireland, UK by Bernard Picton
Polycera faeroensis mating @ Ards, Northern Ireland, UK by Bernard Picton
Polycera faeroensis mating with spawn @ Coleraine, Northern Ireland, UK by Bernard Picton
Polycera faeroensis @ Granada by Luis Sánchez Tocino
Polycera faeroensis @ Granada by Luis Sánchez Tocino
Polycera faeroensis (head detail) @ Caials, Cadaqués by Miquel Pontes
Polycera faeroensis @ Caials, Cadaqués by Miquel Pontes
Polycera faeroensis (head detail) @ Caials, Cadaqués by Miquel Pontes
Polycera faeroensis (gill detail) @ Caials, Cadaqués by Miquel Pontes
Polycera faeroensis @ Caials, Cadaqués by Miquel Pontes

Bibliography

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    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 (2023) "Polycera faeroensis" in OPK-Opistobranquis. Published: 24/10/2012. Accessed: 05/12/2023. Available at (https://opistobranquis.info/en/?p=2431)

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