{"id":256,"date":"2012-05-14T21:25:56","date_gmt":"2012-05-14T19:25:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/opistobranquis.info\/elysia-gordanaeelysia-gordanaeelysia-gordanae"},"modified":"2025-04-09T11:20:12","modified_gmt":"2025-04-09T09:20:12","slug":"elysia-gordanae","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/opistobranquis.info\/en\/guia\/sacoglossa\/plakobranchoidea\/elysia-gordanae\/","title":{"rendered":"Elysia gordanae"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Elysia gordanae<\/em> (Thompson & Jaklin, 1988)<\/h3>\n

\"Elysia<\/div>
Elysia gordanae @ L'Escala, Girona <\/em> by Enric Madrenas<\/center><\/span>

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WoRMS Taxonomic Information<\/h3>
Current accepted name: Elysia gordanae<\/em> T. E. Thompson & Jaklin, 1988<\/strong><\/div>

Current classification<\/h4>
Superdomain<\/th>Biota<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Kingdom<\/th>Animalia<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Phylum<\/th>Mollusca<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Class<\/th>Gastropoda<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Subclass<\/th>Heterobranchia<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Infraclass<\/th>Euthyneura<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Subterclass<\/th>Tectipleura<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Superorder<\/th>Sacoglossa<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Superfamily<\/th>Plakobranchoidea<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Family<\/th>Plakobranchidae<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Genus<\/th>Elysia<\/em><\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Species<\/th>Elysia gordanae<\/em> T. E. Thompson & Jaklin, 1988<\/a><\/td><\/tr><\/table>

Classification provided by the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS). [139680<\/a>]<\/p><\/div>Taxonomic note:<\/strong> The genus Elysia<\/em> comprises about one-third of the species richness in Sacoglossa. However, the species diversity in the genus was poorly characterized in some areas like the north-eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean waters. To clarify the systematics of this genus and to characterize the species diversity in undersampled regions, Mart\u00edn-Herv\u00e1s et al (2024) performed an integrative study based on a thorough literature review, molecular and morphological analyses, and species delimitation approaches. They conducted phylogenetic analyses of partial sequences of two mitochondrial genes (COI and 16S) and two nuclear genes (H3, 28S) using Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood methods, which confirmed the presence of five of the recognized European Elysia<\/em> species: Elysia viridis, E. timida, E. flava, E. margaritae<\/em>, and E. rubeni.\u00a0<\/em>Ortea et al. (2017) proposed the synonymy between E. gordanae<\/em> and E. margaritae<\/em>, that was questionable because of a huge difference in size of these species: E. margaritae<\/em> was described on the basis of few specimens 33-44 mm long, while E. gordanae<\/em> is much smaller and usually its size is less than 10 mm. Mart\u00edn-Herv\u00e1s et al (2024) recovered E. gordanae <\/em>as a distinct species.
\nMart\u00edn-Herv\u00e1s et al (2024) questioned the status of the Mediterranean Elysia hetta<\/em> as a valid species. This taxon was characterized by underdeveloped parapodia and large white papillae on the edge of parapodia and on the sides, cephalic region and pericardium with whitish coloration and numerous red granules distributed on both sides, internal and external to the parapodia (Perrone 1990). Although all these traits are consistent with those in E. gordanae,<\/em>\u00a0however, Perrone (1990) described E. hetta<\/em> as a different species because of its rounded and thickened foot that in E. gordanae<\/em> seems thin and elongated, but this is not a determining character since the animal can contract and show such an aspect. Also, Perrone (1990) argued the presence of pinkish granules in E. gordanae<\/em> gave it a fleshy appearance, not visible in E. hetta<\/em>. Upon examining photographs of several specimens of E. gordanae<\/em> included in Mart\u00edn-Herv\u00e1s et al (2024) phylogenetic study, a high degree of intraspecific chromatic variability was evident. Thus, most likely, the description of E. hetta<\/em> was based on a specimen of E. gordanae<\/em> and thus E. hetta<\/em> should be considered a junior synonym of that species. Based on these observations, the images of nominal E. hetta<\/em> reproduced by Micaroni (2015) and Trainito and Doneddu (2016) in their contributions presumably correspond to E. gordanae<\/em>. The egg mass illustrated in Trainito and Doneddu (2016) looks identical to one in the Sea Slug Forum (Koehler, 2001; http:\/\/www.seaslugforum.net\/find\/4160<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Synonyms<\/strong><\/p>\n