Guide to Opisthobranchs Nudibranchia Doridina Doridoidei Polyceroidea Polycera quadrilineata

Polycera quadrilineata

Polycera quadrilineata (O. F. Müller, 1776)

Polycera quadrilineata by Enric Madrenas

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 quadrilineata (O. F. Müller, 1776)

	Classification according to Bouchet et al. (2017) Taxonomic source: World Register of Marine Species (AphiaID: 140838).

Synonyms

Doris cornuta Rathke, 1806
Doris flava Montagu, 1804
Doris marplatensis Franceschi, 1928
Doris ornata (d’Orbigny, 1837)
Doris ornata var. marplatensis Franceschi, 1928
Doris quadrilineata O. F. Müller, 1776 (original)
Polycera lineatus Risso, 1826
Polycera mediterranea Bergh, 1879
Polycera nigrolineata Dautzenberg & Durouchoux, 1913
Polycera nigropicta Ihering, 1885
Polycera ornata d’Orbigny, 1837
Polycera quadrilineata mediterranea Bergh, 1879
Polycera quadrilineata nigrolineata Dautzenberg & Durouchoux, 1913
Polycera quadrilineata nigropicta Ihering, 1886
Polycera salamandra Labbé, 1931
Polycera typica W. Thompson, 1840
Polycera varians M. Sars, 1840
Thecacera capitata Alder & Hancock, 1854

Description
This species can reach up to about 40 mm in length, although Mediterranean specimens are not larger than 20 mm. The body surface has small conical protuberances, generally pigmented yellow. The body has a whitish background colouration, semitransparent in some areas, which could be more or less darkened by an ash or almost black coloured pigment to a greater or lesser extent deppending on the specimens. Very characteristically there are also longitudinal yellow lines on the back and sides of the body, that could be continuous or discontinuous, a mid-dorsal line running from the gill down to the head, passing between the rhinophores, and two or four lateral lines. The mid-dorsal yellow line continues behind the gill on another line that reaches the tip of the tail. The cephalic veil has 4 yellow fingerlike extensions. The rhinophores are semitransparent at the base and yellow in the laminar zone, which has up to 15 lamellae. Gill consists of 7-9 little developed leaves that are simply contractile. The gill leaves have a whitish background color, darkened in their central axis and with yellow tips. On each side of the gill there is a whitish tentaculiform process with a yellow tip. The foot is whitish and has two short yellow lobes in the front end. The mouth is surrounded by two rounded mouth lobes.

Biology
This relatively common species is usually located in dimly-lit rock walls with abundant bryozoans, on which it feeds. It can also be found under stones and juveniles could be found among algae. Many bryozoan species have been cited as substrate or food, like the genus Bowerbankia, Bugula, Callopora, Cellaria, Celleporella, Electra, Furcellaria, Membranipora, Microporella and Schizomavella, among others (McDonald & Nybakken, 2001). Specimens of P. quadrilineata are often parasitized by copepod crustaceans. The spawn is formed by a transparent ribbon coiled in a ring, about 2 mm high, containing white eggs about 80 microns wide, set very tightly.

Etymology

Polycera. From Greek “polys”, many + “keras”, horn.
Quadrilineata. Four lined. From Latin “quadrus”, square, derived from “quattuor”, four + “līnea”, a string, linen thread, a fishing line, a plumbline, a bowstring, a line (geometry), an outline, sketch, a boundary line, and other similar meanings.

Distribution
This European species is distributed from the Atlantic coasts of Northern Europe (British Isles, North Sea) to the Mediterranean Sea. In the Iberian Peninsula it has been cited in all coastal areas, also in Canary Islands, Azores and Madeira (Cervera et al., 2004). In the Catalan coast it has been found in several localities of the Costa Brava like Cala Sant Antoni, Es Caials, Cadaques, Roses, L’Escala, Llafranc, Aiguafreda, Aiguablava, Tossa de Mar, Blanes and Cala Sant Francesc, in the southern coast of Catalonia it has been found in the port of Vallcarca (Garraf), Sitges, Cubelles and Torredembarra.

Known georeferenced records of the species: Polycera quadrilineata
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

References for the species: Polycera quadrilineata

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Sources: Cervera et al., 2004, Ballesteros, 2007 & 2016, McDonald, 2006 and other sources.

Abundance

Western Mediterranean:
Eastern Mediterranean:
Atlantic Ocean:

Month

This chart displays the monthly observation probability for Polycera quadrilineata based on our own records.

Videos

Polycera quadrilineata by Pascal Girard

Veliger larva of Polycera quadrilineata by Allan Rowat

More pictures

Bibliography

Steve Long, 2006

Bibliography of Opisthobranchia 1554-2000

Gary McDonald, 2009

Bibliographia Nudibranchia

Further reading

Cite this article as:

Ballesteros, M., Madrenas, E. & Pontes, M. (2022) "Polycera quadrilineata" in OPK-Opistobranquis. Published: 15/05/2012. Accessed: 25/05/2022. Available at (https://opistobranquis.info/en/nym6l)

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Polycera quadrilineata