Home Guide to Opisthobranchs Pleurobranchida Berthella perforata

Berthella perforata

Berthella perforata (Philippi, 1844)

Berthella perforata @ Malta by Constantino Mifsud

Taxonomy
 

Superdomain

Biota  

 

Kingdom

Animalia  

 

Phylum

Mollusca  

 

Class

Gastropoda  

 

Subclass

Heterobranchia  

 

Infraclass

Euthyneura  

 

Subterclass

Ringipleura  

 

Superorder

Nudipleura  

 

Order

Pleurobranchida  

 

Superfamily

Pleurobranchoidea  

 

Family

Pleurobranchidae  

 

Genus

Berthella  

 

Species

Berthella perforata  (Philippi, 1844)

 
 Classification according to Bouchet et al. (2017)
Taxonomic source: World Register of Marine Species (AphiaID: 1446148).
Synonyms

  • Pleurobranchus (Bouvieria) perforatus Philippi, 1844
  • Pleurobranchus perforatus Philippi, 1844

Taxonomic note: Formerly known in the Mediterranean as Berthella plumula, following the study by Ghanimi et al. (2020) it turned out that Berthella plumula (Montagu, 1803) is actually a complex of two differentiated species; the name B. plumula is retained for specimens from the Atlantic, while the name Berthella perforata (Philippi, 1844) is proposed for specimens from the Mediterranean.

Description
This species can grow up to 35 mm. The overall body color is whitish or pale, but orange animals are not rare. Light brown viscera can be seen, by transparency, in the center of the dorsum. The mantle is quite flat and is characterized by having a lattice pattern consisting of differently shaped small depressions, that provide the dorsum a porous appearance. The visual identification of specimens of B. perforata is problematic due to the color variation in this species. Some of the specimens display a pattern of stellate markings similar to that of specimens of B. stellata, while others are yellowish or whitish, with no stellate markings, resembling the Atlantic species B. plumula. With a binocular microscope, numerous star like spicules can be seen under the mantle epidermis. The inner shell can also be observed in the central area of the mantle. The head veil, the rhinophores, the branquia and foot are whitish or yellowish. The gill is free for about 1/3 of its total length and has about 20 lamellae on either side of the central shaft.

Biology
It is an sporadical finding, usually under stones or associated to shallow Posidonia oceanica rhizomes. The foot of this species has glands that produce acidic defensive secretions. Little is known about the biology of this species, which could feed on sponges and colonial tunicates.

Etymology

  • Berthella. Probably dedicated to Sabin Berthelot (1794-1880), a French naturalyst who enrolled the Navy and participated in the Napoleonic wars. He lived part of his life at the Canary islands, in his post as French consul in Tenerife. The abbreviation “Berth” is used to indicate Sabin Berthelot as an authority in the scientific botanical description and classification. He wrote the “Historia Natural de Canarias” and directed the Botanical Garden of Puerto de la Cruz.
  • Plumula. Latin origin, the aftershaft of a feather. The first bud, or gemmule, of a young plant; the bud, or growing point, of the embryo, above the cotyledons.

 Distribution
This species inhabits all European coasts, both Atlantic and Mediterranean, and in the Iberian Peninsula it has been collected all along its coastline. In the Catalan coast is a rare species.

Known georeferenced records of the species: Berthella perforata
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: Berthella perforata

    We have not yet published references for Iberian coasts of: Berthella perforata.

Abundance

    Western Mediterranean:3 out of 5 stars
    Eastern Mediterranean:0 out of 5 stars
    Atlantic Ocean:0 out of 5 stars
Month

This chart displays the monthly observation probability for Berthella perforata based on our own records.

Videos

Berthella plumula by Pascal Girard

 

More pictures

Bibliography

    Ballesteros, M. 2007. Lista actualizada de los opistobranquios (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Opisthobranchia) de las costas catalanas. Spira. 2: 163–188.
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    Ballesteros, M., M. Pontes, and E. Madrenas. 2015. Opisthobranch from Medes Islands (Marine Protected Area, Costa Brava, Catalonia, NE Spain): 40 years of study.
    Ballesteros, M., E. Madrenas, and M. Pontes. 2022. OPK - Opistobranquis. (https://opistobranquis.info/).
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    Calvín Calvo, J. C. 1995. El ecosistema marino mediterráneo, guía de su fauna y su flora.
    Capdevila, M., and J. Folch. 2009. Fauna malacològica del Parc Subaquàtic de Tarragona (el Tarragonès, Catalunya, Espanya). SPIRA Vol. 3 Núms. 1-2 Pàg. 33-51.
    Cervera, J. L., and J. C. García-Gómez. 1986. Moluscos opistobranquios del litoral occidental andaluz: nuevas aportaciones faunísticas. Iberus 6 (2): 201-207.
    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.
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    Ghanimi, H., M. Schrödl, J. H. R. Goddard, M. Ballesteros, T. M. Gosliner, Y. Buske, and Á. Valdés. 2020. Stargazing under the sea: molecular and morphological data reveal a constellation of species in the Berthella stellata (Risso, 1826) species complex (Mollusca, Heterobranchia, Pleurobranchidae). Marine Biodiversity. 50: 1–32.
    Hidalgo, J. C. 1917. Fauna malacológica de España, Portugal y las Baleares. Trabajos del Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales. Serie Zoología (Madrid) 30: 752 pp.
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    Parera, A., M. Pontes, X. Salvador, and M. Ballesteros. 2020. Sea slugs (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Heterobranchia): the other inhabitants of the city of Barcelona (Spain). Butlletí de la Institució Catalana d’Història Natural, 84: 75-100.
    Peñas, A., E. Rolán, A. Luque, J. Templado, F. Rubio, D. Moreno, and A. Sierra. 2006. Moluscos marinos de la zona de la isla de Alborán. Iberus, supplement 6.
    Pontes, M., J. M. Dacosta, A. Ollé i Callau, and L. Aguilar. 1996. M@re Nostrum. (http://marenostrum.org/).
    Pontes, M., X. Salvador, A. Parera, G. Álvarez, and M. Ballesteros. 2021. Biodiversity in anthropized marinas. The case of the Barcelona Forum bathing area (Spain), Monografies de la Societat Catalana d’Història Natural. Institució Catalana d’Història Natural, Barcelona.
    Rufray, X., P. Girard, S. Le Bris, T. Menut, C. Santarelli, and X. Salvador. 2021. Liste commentée des limaces de mer de la lagune de Thau, Hérault. Les cahiers de la fondation Biotope. 36: 1–189.
    Sánchez Tocino, L. 2001. Berthella plumula accessed through: Opistobranquios de la Costa de Granada on 2014-12-14. (http://www.ugr.es/~lstocino/berthella_plumula.htm).
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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, Manuel Ballesteros, Enric Madrenas (2022) "Berthella perforata" in OPK-Opistobranquis. Published: 28/11/2020. Accessed: 16/05/2022. Available at (https://opistobranquis.info/en/wvJPb)

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