Microchlamylla gracilis

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Microchlamylla gracilis
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The nudibranch Microchlamylla gracilis, Gulen Dive Centre, Norway.
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Heterobranchia
Infraclass: Euthyneura
Clade: Nudipleura
Order: Nudibranchia
Clade: Dexiarchia
Infraorder: Cladobranchia
Superfamily: Fionoidea
Family: Flabellinidae
Genus: Microchlamylla
Species:
M. gracilis
Binomial name
Microchlamylla gracilis
(Alder & Hancock, 1844) [1]
Synonyms [2]
  • Eolis gracilisAlder & Hancock, 1844
  • Coryphella gracilis(Alder & Hancock, 1844)
  • Flabellina gracilis(Alder & Hancock, 1844)
  • Coryphella rufibranchialis var. clavigera Odhner, 1929
  • Eolis smaragdina Alder & Hancock, 1851

Microchlamylla gracilis, sometimes known by the common name slender eolis, is a species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc 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 group of marine invertebrates with varying levels of resemblance to terrestrial slugs

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.

Nudibranch order of molluscs

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.

Contents

Distribution

This species was described from Cullercoats, North Sea. It is a fairly common species found in current-swept sites from northern France to Norway and Iceland. It is also reported from the East coast of North America from Newfoundland south to New England. [3]

Cullercoats a town in Tyne and Wear, United Kindom

Cullercoats is a village and urban area of North East England, with a population 9,407 in 2004. It has now been absorbed into the North Tyneside conurbation, sitting between Tynemouth and Whitley Bay.The population of this North Tyneside ward at the 2011 census was 9,202.

North Sea marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean

The North Sea is a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean located between the United Kingdom, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and France. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Sea in the north. It is more than 970 kilometres (600 mi) long and 580 kilometres (360 mi) wide, with an area of 570,000 square kilometres (220,000 sq mi).

New England Region of the United States

New England is a region composed of six states of the northeastern United States: Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north, respectively. The Atlantic Ocean is to the east and southeast, and Long Island Sound is to the south. Boston is New England's largest city as well as the capital of Massachusetts. The largest metropolitan area is Greater Boston with nearly a third of the entire region's population, which also includes Worcester, Massachusetts, Manchester, New Hampshire, and Providence, Rhode Island.

Description

This Microchlamylla has a narrow body and cerata in well defined clusters. The cerata have a narrow band of white pigment at the tip which is often broken into spots. Mature animals typically measure 12–15 mm in length. [4] The maximum recorded body length is 25 mm. [5]

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

Minimum recorded depth is 0 m. [5] Maximum recorded depth is 33 m. [5]

The diet of this species is hydroids of the genus Eudendrium .

Hydroid (zoology) life stage

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.

<i>Eudendrium</i> genus of cnidarians

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

  1. ↑ Alder J. & Hancock A. (1844). Description of a new genus of nudibranchiate Mollusca, with some new species of Eolis. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 13: 161-167, p.166.
  2. 1 2 Picton, B. (2017). Microchlamylla gracilis (Alder & Hancock, 1844). In: MolluscaBase (2017). Accessed on 2017-12-20
  3. ↑ Rudman, W.B., 1999 (August 28) Flabellina gracilis (Alder & Hancock, 1844). [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.
  4. ↑ Picton, B.E. & Morrow, C.C., 2010. Microchlamylla gracilis (Alder & Hancock, 1844) [In] Encyclopedia of Marine Life of Britain and Ireland.
  5. 1 2 3 Welch J. J. (2010). "The “Island Rule” and Deep-Sea Gastropods: Re-Examining the Evidence". PLoS ONE 5(1): e8776. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0008776.
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