''Paraflabellina ischitana'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

sea slug Sea slug is a common name for some marine invertebrates with varying levels of resemblance to terrestrial slugs. Most creatures known as sea slugs are gastropods, i.e. they are sea snails (marine gastropod mollusks) that over evolutionary t ...

, an aeolid

nudibranch Nudibranchs () are a group of soft-bodied marine gastropod molluscs which shed their shells after their larval stage. They are noted for their often extraordinary colours and striking forms, and they have been given colourful nicknames to matc ...

, a

marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

gastropod The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. T ...

mollusk Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is e ...

in the family

Flabellinidae Flabellinidae is a taxonomic family of brightly coloured sea slugs, specifically nudibranchs, marine gastropod mollusks. This family has no subfamilies. Genera and species Genera within the family Flabellinidae include:Bouchet, P. (2011)Flabell ...

Etymology

The name ''ischitana'' means from

Ischia Ischia ( , , ) is a volcanic island in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It lies at the northern end of the Gulf of Naples, about from Naples. It is the largest of the Phlegrean Islands. Roughly trapezoidal in shape, it measures approximately east to west ...

, the island from where this nudibranch was first named.

Distribution

This species is found in

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

waters around

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

in such locations as

Costa Brava The Costa Brava (, ; "Wild Coast" or "Rough Coast") is a coastal region of Catalonia in northeastern Spain. Whilst sources differ on the exact definition of the Costa Brava, it can be regarded as stretching from the town of Blanes, northeast o ...

, and in the

Tyrrhenian Sea The Tyrrhenian Sea (; it, Mar Tirreno , french: Mer Tyrrhénienne , sc, Mare Tirrenu, co, Mari Tirrenu, scn, Mari Tirrenu, nap, Mare Tirreno) is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenian pe ...

, especially around

(hence the species Latin name).Sylvain Le Bris, Michel Péa
« Flabellina ischitana Hirano & Thompson, 1990 »
/ref>

Habitat

''Paraflabellina ischitana'' usually can be found in shallow water, but it can also reach depths of 35 m.

Description

This species can grow to a length of approximately 4 cm and is mostly purple-violet in colour. It has opaque white-tipped certa, rhinophores, and oral tentacles. The rhinophores are annulate. Due to the somewhat transparent skin of the ceras, the branches of the digestive gland are visible, and appear as red-orange.Manuel Ballesteros, Enric Madrenas, Miquel Pontes et al
«Flabellina ischitana (Hirano & Thompson, 1990)»
/ref>

Similar species

''Paraflabellina ischitana'' is often confused with ''

Flabellina affinis ''Flabellina affinis'' is a species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Flabellinidae. Distribution This species is found in depths to 50 m in European waters in the Atlantic Ocean from Portugal to Ghana a ...

'', but can be distinguished as follows: *''Paraflabellina ischitana'': the ceratal surface has no purple-violet colouration and is translucent; *''Flabellina affinis'': the digestive gland is not visible as the area beneath the subapical white ring is opaque; ''Paraflabellina ischitana'' is also similar to '' Edmundsella pedata'', but they can be distinguished on the basis of their rhinophores:Nembro
/ref> *''Paraflabellina ischitana'' has annulate rhinophore *''Edmundsella pedata'' has smooth or papillate rhinophores

Biology

This nudibranch likely eats

hydroids Hydroids are a life stage for most animals of the class Hydrozoa, small predators related to jellyfish. Some hydroids such as the freshwater '' Hydra'' are solitary, with the polyp attached directly to the substrate. When these produce buds ...

of the genus ''

Eudendrium ''Eudendrium'' is a large genus of hydroids (Hydrozoa), one of two in the family Eudendriidae. These animals are marine cnidarias in the family Eudendriidae. Species Species so far described in this genus include:Eudendrium racemosum'' and '' Eudendrium glomeratum'') as its main food source. Like other nudibranchs, this species is hermaphrodite. Mating occurs in late spring. The egg case is whitish or reddish, with thousands of eggs of about 70 microns. The nudibranch places the egg case on the branches of hydrozoa.

Bibliography

* Egidio Trainito, Nudibranchi del Mediterraneo. Guida al riconoscimento dei molluschi opistobranchi, 2005ª ed., Milano, Il Castello, 2005, . * Gary R. McDonald, University of California Santa Cruz - Nudibranch Systematic Index, University of California Santa Cruz - Institute of Marine Sciences

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q5456554 Flabellinidae Gastropods described in 1990