Elysia flava

Elysia flava (Verrill,1901)

Elysia flava by Enric Madrenas

Taxonomy
 

Superdomain

Biota  

 

Kingdom

Animalia  

 

Phylum

Mollusca  

 

Class

Gastropoda  

 

Subclass

Heterobranchia  

 

Infraclass

Euthyneura  

 

Subterclass

Tectipleura  

 

Superorder

Sacoglossa  

 

Superfamily

Plakobranchoidea  

 

Family

Plakobranchidae  

 

Genus

Elysia  

 

Species

Elysia flava  A. E. Verrill, 1901

 
 Classification according to Bouchet et al. (2017)
Taxonomic source: World Register of Marine Species (AphiaID: 139679).
Description
The specimens of this species can reach more than 20 mm in length. The head is small and rhinophores are short and curled. The eyes are behind the base of the rhinophores. The parapodia are quite large, with a scalloped or undulating edge and have small conical tubercles which are also found in smaller quantities in the inner and outer parapodia. The overall body color is yellowish-green more or less homogeneous, except on the edge of the parapodia and the tubercules, which are white. With the aid of a binocular microscopy small reddish spots can be seen in the head and on the inner side of the parapodia. There are whitish granulations that conform a curved line extending from the anterior edge of the parapodia until the prominence of the heart, located in the region of the back, where the parapodia start. From the cardiac area there can be seen, by transparency, two thick greenish nervations, one on each side of the body, belonging to the digestive gland, that progressively branch towards the edges of the parapodia. The foot is also yellowish-green color, with a short tail behind the back of the parapodia.

Biology
There is no information regarding its preferred habitat, the algae that feeds on, nor reproduction.

Etymology

  • Elysia. It is a girl’s name of Latin origin, derived from the word Elysium, which in mythology is the home of the blessed, known as the “Elysian fields”. The name Elysia also means “God’s oath” in Hebrew. Frieder Sauer comments that Elysia means heavenly.
  • Flava. From Latin flāvus, yellow, golden, blond, flaxen.

Distribution
This is an anfiatlantic distribution species, being cited originally in Bermuda, it has been found also in Jamaica, Tenerife, Madeira, and in the Mediterranean, in the coast of Tunisia and in the Aegean Sea. In the Iberian Peninsula it has been found off the coast of Almeria and Cabo de Palos (Murcia). This is a little known species in the Catalan coast and has been located only in Palamos.

Known georeferenced records of the species: Elysia flava
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

More Pictures

Bibliography

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    Ballesteros M, Madrenas E, Pontes M. 2016. Actualización del catálogo de los moluscos opistobranquios (Gastropoda: Heterobranchia) de las costas catalanas. Spira. 6:1–28.
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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. (2023) "Elysia flava" in OPK-Opistobranquis. Published: 14/05/2012. Accessed: 19/03/2024. Available at (https://opistobranquis.info/en/?p=254)

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