Knoutsodonta pusilla

Knoutsodonta pusilla
The nudibranch Onchidoris pusilla, 5 mm length, Gulen Dive Resort, Norway.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Order:	Nudibranchia
Superfamily:	Onchidoridoidea
Family:	Onchidorididae
Genus:	Knoutsodonta
Species:	K. pusilla
Binomial name
Knoutsodonta pusilla (Alder & Hancock, 1845) [1]
Synonyms [2]
Atalodoris albonigra(Pruvot-Fol, 1951) junior subjective synonym Doris pusillaAlder & Hancock, 1845 Knoutsodonta albonigra(Pruvot-Fol, 1951) superseded combination Knoutsodonta pusilla(Alder & Hancock, 1845) Lamellidoris albonigra Pruvot-Fol, 1951 (original combination) Onchidoris albonigra(Pruvot-Fol, 1951) Onchidoris pusilla(Alder & Hancock, 1845)

Knoutsodonta pusilla is a species of sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusc in the family Onchidorididae. ^[2]

Colour plate from Alder & Hancock Monograph, 1845–55.

Distribution

This species was described from Tor Bay, Devon, England. It is currently known from the European coasts of the North Atlantic Ocean from Norway, south to the Atlantic coast of Spain. ^{[4] [5]}

This species was also described from Banyuls-sur-Mer on the Mediterranean Sea coast of France. It has been reported from the Bay of Naples, Italy and the Catalan coast of Spain at Cadaqués and some other location in the Costa Brava. ^[6]

Diet

Knoutsodonta pusilla feeds on the bryozoans Escharella immersa , Microporella ciliata , Escharoides coccineus and Porella concinna . ^[5]

References

1. Alder J. & Hancock A. (1845). Notice of a new genus and several new species of nudibranchiate Mollusca. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 16: 311-316, page 313.
2. MolluscaBase (2018). Knoutsodonta pusilla (Alder & Hancock, 1845). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2018-09-10.
3. Alder J. & Hancock A. (1845-1855). A monograph of the British nudibranchiate Mollusca: with figures of all the species. The Ray Society, London. Published in 8 parts:Part 4 Fam. 1 Plate 13 [1846].
4. Picton, B.E. & Morrow, C.C. (2015). Onchidoris pusilla (Alder & Hancock, 1845). [In] Encyclopedia of Marine Life of Britain and Ireland. Accessed on 2016-01-18.
5. Thompson, T. E. and G. H. Brown (1984). Biology of Opisthobranch Molluscs Vol 2. 229 pp. 41 Pls. Ray Society, page 60.
6. Ballesteros, M., E. Madrenas, M. Pontes et al. (2012-2016) Onchidoris albonigra in OPK-Opistobranquis, Published: 29/08/2012, Accessed: 20/01/2016.

• Pruvot-Fol A. (1951). Etudes des nudibranches de la Méditerranée 2. Archives de Zoologie Expérimentale et Générale 88: 1-80.