Home Guide to Opisthobranchs Sacoglossa Plakobranchoidea Limapontia capitata

Limapontia capitata

Limapontia capitata (O. F. Müller, 1774)

Limapontia capitata 3mm @ Menai Strait (Wales) April 2011 by Ian Smith

Taxonomy
 

Superdomain

Biota  

 

Kingdom

Animalia  

 

Phylum

Mollusca  

 

Class

Gastropoda  

 

Subclass

Heterobranchia  

 

Infraclass

Euthyneura  

 

Subterclass

Tectipleura  

 

Superorder

Sacoglossa  

 

Superfamily

Plakobranchoidea  

 

Family

Limapontiidae  

 

Genus

Limapontia  

 

Species

Limapontia capitata  (O. F. Müller, 1774)

 
 Classification according to Bouchet et al. (2017)
Taxonomic source: World Register of Marine Species (AphiaID: 140229).
Synonyms

  • Chalidis caeruleus de Quatrefages, 1844 
  • Chalidis coerulea Quatrefages, 1844 
  • Chalidis nigricans de Quatrefages, 1844 
  • Fasciola capitata Müller O.F., 1774 (original)
  • Limapontia nigra Johnston, 1835 
  • Pontolimax varians Meyer & Möbius, 1865

Description
Usually measures up to about 4 mm long, although there are reports of speciment up to 8mm long. Body is a smooth, without any appendages or tubercles, apart from the curved rhinophoral crest above and in front of each eye. These crests are absent in juveniles, and may not be well developed in adults, but when they are, and depending on the viewing angle, they may appear fingerlike rhinophores. The body is coloured black or dark brown, with some translucent white zones: the dorsal side of the foot, the dorsal surface of the metapodium (tail), the eye area, the rinoforales crests and often the center of the dorsum. Sometimes there are white spots in dark areas and sometimes there are also some small greenish spots with a few spots of reflective green. The anus is located a short distance behind the middle of the body on the right side, it is often difficult to see, except when defecating. The head has a truncated leading edge, and extends in front of the foot. It lacks digitiform rhinophores or oral tentacles. The foot has a translucent white sole, scattered with white dots, and often reveals the internal viscera by transparency, as they are usually of two shades of green. The foot lacks any propodial tentacles or extensions, while the front side of the foot is slightly swollen.

Biology
It does not live in brackish water, although it may be dragged into low salinity pools by tidal action. It is found on algae of the genus Cladophora, Bryopsis and Ulva. Spawning takes place from June to November, and veligers are part of the plankton for about a week before the metamorphosis.

Etymology

  • Limapontia, from Greek “limax”, slug + “Pontos”, ancient personification of the sea; father of Nereus.
  • Capitata, from Latin “capitatus”, head shaped.

Distribution
It is distributed from the Arctic to the Mediterranean and it is widespread along the coasts of the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Known georeferenced records of the species: Limapontia capitata
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 Limapontia capitata based on our own records.

More pictures

Bibliography

    Ballesteros, M., E. Madrenas, and M. Pontes. 2023. OPK - Opistobranquis. (https://opistobranquis.info/).
    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.
    De Fez, S. 1974. Ascoglosos y Nudibranquios de España y Portugal. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Valencia, Spain.
    Eliot, C. N. E. 1910. A monograph of the British nudibranchiate Mollusca: with figures of the species; Figures by the late Joshua Alder and the late Albany Hancock, and others. Ray Society, London.
    Furfaro, G., F. Vitale, C. Licchelli, and P. Mariottini. 2020. Two Seas for One Great Diversity: Checklist of the Marine Heterobranchia (Mollusca; Gastropoda) from the Salento Peninsula (South-East Italy). Diversity. 12: 171.
    García-Gómez, J. C. 1982. Contribución al conocimiento de los opistobranquios del litoral andaluz. Actas II Simposio Ibérico de Estudios del Bentos Marino III: 235-241.
    García-Gómez, J. C., J. L. Cervera, F. J. García, J. A. Ortea, S. F. García-Martin, A. Medina, and L. P. Burnay. 1991. Resultados de la campaña internacional de biología marina “Algarve 88”: moluscos opistobranquios. Bollettino Malacologico 27 (5-9): 125-138.
    Gascoigne, T. 1975. A field guide to the British Limapontidae and Alderia modesta. J. Conch. Lond. 28: 359 – 364.
    Hidalgo, J. C. 1916. Datos para la fauna española (Moluscos y Braquiópodos). Boletín de la Real Sociedad Española de Historia Natural 16: 235-246.
    Jensen, K. R. 1975. The importance of Limapontia capitata (Mueller) (Opisthobranchia, Sacoglossa) as a primary consumer in the Cladophora-belt. 10th European Symposium in Marine Biology 2: 339-350.
    Jensen, K. R. 1975. Food Preference And Food Consumption In Relation To Growth Of Limapontia capitata Opisthobranchia Sacoglossa. Ophelia 14 (1-2). 1975. 1-14.
    Jensen, K. 1977. OPTIMAL SALINITY AND TEMPERATURE INTERVALS OF LIMAPONTIA-CAPITATA (OPISTHOBRANCHIA, SACOGLOSSA) DETERMINED BY GROWTH AND HEART-RATE MEASUREMENTS. Ophelia. 16: 175–185.
    Long, S. J. 2006. Bibliography of Opisthobranchia 1554-2000. Bayside Books & Press, Tustin, CA, U.S.A. 672p.
    Marín, A., and J. Ros. 1987. Catálogo preliminar de los gasterópodos marinos del sudeste español. Iberus 7 (1): 137-145.
    Marín, A., and J. Ros. 1988. Los Sacoglossos (Mollusca, Opisthobranchia) del sudeste Ibérico; Catálogo de las especies y presencia de cloroplastos algales en las mismas. Iberus. 8: 25–49.
    McDonald, G. 2009. Bibliographia Nudibranchia. 2nd Online Edition, Annotated. 1072 pp  Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz. (http://escholarship.org/uc/item/8115h0wz).
    Menéndez, J. L., and J. Oliveros. 2004. Limapontia capitata accessed through: AsturNatura on 2015-02-05. (http://www.asturnatura.com/especie/limapontia-capitata.html).
    Mileikovskii, S. A. 1960. ABOUT THE RANGE OF DISPERSAL OF PELAGIC LARVAE OF BOTTOM INVERTEBRATES WITH MARINE CURRENTS - THE EXAMPLE OF LIMAPONTIA-CAPITATA MULL - (GASTROPODA, OPISTHOBRANCHIA) OF THE NORWEGIAN AND BARENTS SEAS. Doklady Akademii Nauk Sssr. 135: 965–967.
    Mileikovsky, S. A. 1958. Development and seasonal numerical trends in the larvae of White Sea Limapontia capitata (Mull) and Tergipes despectus Johnston (Gastropoda, Opisthobranchia). Doklady Akademiia Nauk S S.S.R. 120(6):510-513.
    Müller, O. F. 1773. Vermium terrestrium et fluviatilium, seu animalium infusoriorum, helminthicorum, et testaecorum, non marinorum, succincta historia. Vol. 1, unpaginated preface, bibliography and table of contents, 32 pp., and 1-136 [1773]; pars altera, 1-72, and unpaginated index 10 pp.[1774]; vol. 2, pp. I-XXVI [= 1-36], 1-214 [1774]. Havniæ [Copenhagen]& Lipsiæ [Leipzig], Heineck & Faber.
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    Ortea, J. 1977b. Contribución a la actualización de la fauna de Opistobranquios ibéricos; Sacoglosos. Boletín de la estación Central de Ecología 6 (11): 75-91.
    Ortea, J. 1977a. Moluscos marinos gasterópodos y bivalvos del litoral asturiano entre Ribadesella y Ribadeo, con especial atención a la subclase de los opistobranquios. Tesis Doctoral.
    Ozturk, B., A. Dogan, B. Bitlis-Bakir, and A. Salman. 2014. Marine Molluscs of the Turkish Coasts: An Updated Checklist. Tübitak, Turkish Journal of Zoology 38.
    Prkić, J., A. Petani, Ð. Iglić, and L. Lanča. 2018. Stražnjoškržnjaci Jadranskoga Mora: Slikovni Atlas i Popis Hrvatskih Vrsta / Opisthobranchs of the Adriatic Sea: Photographic Atlas and List of Croatian Species. Ronilaćki Klub Sveti Roko, Bibinje.
    Riedl, R. 1983. Fauna und Flora der Mittelmeeres, ein systematischer Meeresfuhrer fur Biologen und Naturfreunde, 836 pp. Paul Parey, Hamburg & Berlin.
    Rudman W.B. et al. 1998. Limapontia capitata accessed through: Sea Slug Forum on 2014-12-14. (http://seaslugforum.net/showall/limacapi).
    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.
    Smith, I. 2012. Limapontia capitata accessed through: The Conchological Society of Great Britain and Ireland on 2015-05-18. (http://www.conchsoc.net/spaccount/Limapontia-capitata).
    Templado, J., and R. Villanueva. 2010. Checklist of Phylum Mollusca. pp. 148-198 In Coll, M., et al., 2010. The biodiversity of the Mediterranean Sea: estimates, patterns, and threats. PLoS ONE 5(8):36pp.
    Templado, J., P. Talavera, and L. Murillo. 1983. Adiciones a la fauna de opistobranquios del Cabo de Palos (Murcia) I. Iberus 3: 47-50.
    Trainito, E., and M. Doneddu. 2014. Nudibranchi del Mediterraneo, 2nd. ed. Il Castello.
    Urgorri, V., and C. Besteiro. 1983. Inventario de los moluscos Opistobranquios de Galicia. Investigación Pesquera 47 (1): 3-28.
    Vestergaard, K., and G. Thorson. 1938. Uber den Laich und die Larven von Duvaucelia plebia, Polycera quadrilineata, Eubranchus pallidus und Limapontia capitata (Gastropoda Opisthobranchiata). Zoologischer Anzeiger 124(5-6):129-138.
    WoRMS Editorial Board. 2023. World Register of Marine Species. WoRMS. (http://www.marinespecies.org).

    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 (2023) "Limapontia capitata" in OPK-Opistobranquis. Published: 19/10/2014. Accessed: 30/03/2023. Available at (https://opistobranquis.info/en/hHYYP)

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