Calmella gaditana

Calmella gaditana
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Heterobranchia
Infraclass:	Euthyneura
Clade:	Nudipleura
Order:	Nudibranchia
Clade:	Dexiarchia
Infraorder:	Cladobranchia
Superfamily:	Fionoidea
Family:	Flabellinidae
Genus:	Calmella
Species:	C. gaditana
Binomial name
	Calmella gaditana; (Cervera, García-Gómez & García, 1987) [1]
Synonyms
	Flabellina confusa Gonzalez-Duarte, Cervera & Poddubetskaia, 2008 ; Piseinotecus gaditanus Cervera, García-Gómez & García, 1987 ;

Last updated March 17, 2019

Calmella gaditana is a species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Flabellinidae.^[2]

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 sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. Other ways of defining species include their karyotype, DNA sequence, morphology, behaviour or ecological niche. In addition, paleontologists use the concept of the chronospecies since fossil reproduction cannot be examined. While these definitions may seem adequate, when looked at more closely they represent problematic species concepts. For example, the boundaries between closely related species become unclear with hybridisation, in a species complex of hundreds of similar microspecies, and in a ring species. Also, among organisms that reproduce only asexually, the concept of a reproductive species breaks down, and each clone is potentially a microspecies.

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 actually gastropods, i.e. they are sea snails that over evolutionary time have either completely lost their shells, or have seemingly lost their shells due to having a greatly reduced or internal shell. The name "sea slug" is most often applied to nudibranchs, as well as to a paraphyletic set of other marine gastropods without obvious shells.

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 match, such as "clown", "marigold", "splendid", "dancer", and "dragon". Currently, about 3,000 valid species of nudibranchs are known.

Distribution

This nudibranch was described from Cadiz, Spain. It has since been found in the Cape Verde Islands, the Canary Islands, Senegal and the Bay of Biscay north to the Bay of Arcachon, France.^[3]

Spain, officially the Kingdom of Spain(Spanish: Reino de España), is a country mostly located on the Iberian Peninsula in Europe. Its territory also includes two archipelagoes: the Canary Islands off the coast of Africa, and the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea. The African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla make Spain the only European country to have a physical border with an African country (Morocco). Several small islands in the Alboran Sea are also part of Spanish territory. The country's mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for a small land boundary with Gibraltar; to the north and northeast by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; and to the west and northwest by Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean.

The Canary Islands is a Spanish archipelago and the southernmost autonomous community of Spain located in the Atlantic Ocean, 100 kilometres west of Morocco at the closest point. The Canary Islands, which are also known informally as the Canaries, are among the outermost regions (OMR) of the European Union proper. It is also one of the eight regions with special consideration of historical nationality recognized as such by the Spanish Government. The Canary Islands belong to the African Plate like the Spanish cities of Ceuta and Melilla, the two on the African mainland.

Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is a country in West Africa. Senegal is bordered by Mauritania in the north, Mali to the east, Guinea to the southeast, and Guinea-Bissau to the southwest. Senegal also borders The Gambia, a country occupying a narrow sliver of land along the banks of the Gambia River, which separates Senegal's southern region of Casamance from the rest of the country. Senegal also shares a maritime border with Cape Verde. Senegal's economic and political capital is Dakar.

Description

This nudibranch is translucent white in colour and reaches 12 mm in length. The tips of the rhinophores, oral tentacles and tail are tipped with white. The digestive gland in the cerata is red and there are large white spots all over the surfaces of the cerata. The buccal mass is bright pink-purple and shows through the skin and tissue of the head as two oval masses.

As applied to mollusks, the New Latin term diverticulum is an anatomical feature. The term is most often encountered in the plural form as "diverticula", "hepatic diverticula", or "digestive diverticula", which are anatomical terms for organs which are visible from the outside of the body in a clade of sea slugs known as aeolid nudibranchs, marine opisthobranch gastropod molluscs.

Cerata anatomical structures found in nudibranch sea slugs

Ceras, plural Cerata, are anatomical structures found externally in nudibranch sea slugs, especially in aeolid nudibranchs, marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusks in the clade Aeolidida. The singular of cerata is ceras, which comes from the Greek word "κέρας", meaning "horn", a reference to the shape of these structures.

Ecology

Calmella gaditana feeds on hydroids. It has been reported eating Eudendrium species in the Bay of Arcachon.^[3] It has been found in rock pools on the shore and in shallow water with strong currents.^[3]

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, they become detached and grow on as new individuals.

Eudendrium is a large genus of hydroids (Hydrozoa), one of two in the family Eudendriidae. These animals are marine cnidarias in the family Eudendriidae.

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References

↑ Cervera J.L., García J.C & García F.J. (1987). Una nueva especie de Piseinotecus Marcus, 1955 del litoral ibérico. Bollettino Malacologico 22(9-12): 215-222
↑ Picton, B. (2017). Calmella gaditana (Cervera, García-Gomez & García, 1987). In: MolluscaBase (2017). Accessed on 2018-01-13
1 2 3 Piseinotecus gaditanus at Doris (in French)

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[CGG-1] Cervera J.L., García J.C & García F.J. (1987). Una nueva especie de Piseinotecus Marcus, 1955 del litoral ibérico. Bollettino Malacologico 22(9-12): 215-222

[2] Picton, B. (2017). Calmella gaditana (Cervera, García-Gomez & García, 1987). In: MolluscaBase (2017). Accessed on 2018-01-13

[doris-3] 1 2 3 Piseinotecus gaditanus at Doris (in French)