Home Guide to Opisthobranchs Pleurobranchida Pleurobranchus testudinarius

Pleurobranchus testudinarius

Pleurobranchus testudinarius (Cantraine, 1835)

Pleurobranchus testudinarius by Enric Madrenas

Taxonomy
 

Superdomain

Biota  

 

Kingdom

Animalia  

 

Phylum

Mollusca  

 

Class

Gastropoda  

 

Subclass

Heterobranchia  

 

Infraclass

Euthyneura  

 

Subterclass

Ringipleura  

 

Superorder

Nudipleura  

 

Order

Pleurobranchida  

 

Superfamily

Pleurobranchoidea  

 

Family

Pleurobranchidae  

 

Genus

Pleurobranchus  

 

Species

Pleurobranchus testudinarius  Cantraine, 1835

 
 Classification according to Bouchet et al. (2017)
Taxonomic source: World Register of Marine Species (AphiaID: 140821).
Synonyms

  • Doris testudinaria Risso 1818
  • Pleurobranchus mammillatus Schultz in Philippi, 1836
  • Susania testudinaria Cantraine, F.J., 1840
  • Pleurobranchus denotarisi Vérany, 1846
  • Daudebardia tarentina de Stefani & Pantanelli, 1879
  • Corambe testudinaria Fischer P. 1889

Description
This is a large species because it can reach more than 20 cm in length. The mantle is very domed and very broad, completely covering the foot. The color of the adult animal is orange-red or dark purple, but in the young speciments it is of a lighter shade. The mantle has conical protuberances that are larger in the center and whose bases are surrounded by thin purple lines. In the anterior part of the mantle there’s a slit hiding the insertion point of the rhinophores. The cephalic veil is underdeveloped. The gill is yellowish and has 18 to 30 lamellae on either side of the central shaft, its big size frequently makes it protrude from the mantle. The foot is yellowish and on its back zone there is a “pedia” gland.

Biology
Apparently it feeds on certain species of colonial tunicates although data suggest that it could be a scavenger too. Very little is known about the biology of this species. It is believed it has nocturnal habits, during the day hiding under rocks or inside caves.

Etymology

  • Pleurobranchus. From Greek Pleuron, “side” + Bragchia, “gill”.
  • Testudinarius. From Latin testūdin- (root of testūdō) turtle, pertaining to or resembling a turtle or turtle shell.

Distribution
Distribution predominantly Mediterranean, this species has also been recently cited for the Azores and the Canary Islands. In the Catalan coast has been observed in different locations on sandy bottoms from about 20 m depth, but also in underwater caves of the Costa Brava.

Known georeferenced records of the species: Pleurobranchus testudinarius
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 Pleurobranchus testudinarius based on our own records.

Videos

 

More pictures

Pleurobranchus testudinarius
Pleurobranchus testudinarius by Luis Sánchez Tocino
Pleurobranchus testudinarius @ Tarifa by Manuel Martínez Chacón
Pleurobranchus testudinarius @ Caials 24-07-2015
Pleurobranchus testudinarius @ Ammouliani island, Halkidiki, Greece 15-07-2014 by Yiannis Iliopoulos
Pleurobranchus testudinarius @ Ammouliani island, Halkidiki, Greece 26-07-2014 by Yiannis Iliopoulos
Pleurobranchus testudinarius @ Es Caials 19-08-2016 by Àlex Bartolí
Pleurobranchus testudinarius @ Es Caials 19-08-2016 by Àlex Bartolí
Pleurobranchus testudinarius @ Cala Llobeta, Tarragona, Spain 10/08/2019 by Judith Camps
Pleurobranchus testudinarius @ Cala Llobeta, Tarragona, Spain 10/08/2019 by Judith Camps
Pleurobranchus testudinarius @ Cala Llobeta, Tarragona, Spain 10/08/2019
Pleurobranchus testudinarius @ Cala Llobeta, Tarragona, Spain 10/08/2019 by Judith Camps
Pleurobranchus testudinarius @ Sicily, Italy by Lara Orselli
Pleurobranchus testudinarius @ Sicily, Italy by Lara Orselli
Pleurobranchus testudinarius @ Sicily, Italy by Lara Orselli
Pleurobranchus testudinarius @ Sicily, Italy by Lara Orselli
Pleurobranchus testudinarius @ Sicily, Italy by Lara Orselli
Pleurobranchus testudinarius mating @ Sicily, Italy by Lara Orselli
Pleurobranchus testudinarius spawn @ Sicily, Italy by Lara Orselli
Pleurobranchus testudinarius @ escull artificial de Port de la Selva by Manuel Ballesteros
Pleurobranchus testudinarius @ escull artificial de Port de la Selva by Manuel Ballesteros
Pleurobranchus testudinarius @ escull artificial de Port de la Selva by Manuel Ballesteros
Pleurobranchus testudinarius @ escull artificial de Port de la Selva by Manuel Ballesteros
Pleurobranchus testudinarius @ Es Caials, Cadaqués, Spain by Mar García
Pleurobranchus testudinarius @ France by Pascal Girard
Pleurobranchus testudinarius @ France by Pascal Girard
Pleurobranchus testudinarius mating @ France by Pascal Girard
Pleurobranchus testudinarius spawn @ France by Pascal Girard
Pleurobranchus testudinarius mating @ Italy by Lara Orselli

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:

Ballesteros, M., Madrenas, E. & Pontes, M. (2012-2025) "Pleurobranchus testudinarius" in OPK-Opistobranquis. Published: 15/05/2012. Accessed: 03/02/2025. Available at (https://opistobranquis.info/en/?p=384)