Fourline nudibranch

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Fourline nudibranch
Polycera quadrilineata
Polycera quadrilineata
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
(unranked): clade Heterobranchia

clade Euthyneura
clade Nudipleura
clade Nudibranchia
clade Euctenidiacea
clade Doridacea
clade Euarminida

Superfamily: Polyceroidea
Family: Polyceridae
Subfamily: Polycerinae
Genus: Polycera
Species: P. quadrilineata
Binomial name
Polycera quadrilineata
(O. F. Müller, 1776)
Synonyms[1]
  • Doris cornuta Rathke, 1806
  • Doris flava Montagu, 1804
  • Doris marplatensis Franceschi, 1928
  • Doris quadrilineata O.F. Müller, 1776
  • Polycera lineatus Risso, 1826 (synonym)
  • Polycera mediterranea Bergh, 1879
  • Polycera nigrolineata Dautzenberg & Durouchoux, 1913
  • Polycera nigropicta Ihering, 1885
  • Polycera ornata d'Orbigny, 1837 (synonym)
  • Polycera salamandra Labbé, 1931
  • Polycera typica W. Thompson, 1840
  • Polycera varians M. Sars, 1840
  • Thecacera capitata Alder & Hancock, 1854

The fourline nudibranch, Polycera quadrilineata, is a species of dorid nudibranch. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Polyceridae.

Distribution

This nudibranch is described originally from the NE Atlantic, where it is a common species in shallow water. It is distributed from Greenland to Norway and south along the European coasts into the Mediterranean Sea. It has also been reported off the South African coast from the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula to Algoa Bay. The South African animals differ in having six instead of four papillae projecting from the frontal margin of the head, plus details of the coloration. It is found from the intertidal zone to 160 m.

Description

The fourline nudibranch is a smooth-bodied variably coloured nudibranch. The ground colour is white or grey and there are usually black, yellow or orange stripes longitudinally along the notum, though these can be absent. The head has four or occasionally six yellow projections. The gills and rhinophores are translucent white, tipped with yellow. In the South African animals the gills and rhinophores are black, and may be spotted with yellow. Alongside the gills is a pair of yellow-tipped projections. The animal may reach 20mm in total length. It is distinguished from the crowned nudibranch in having raised yellow spots on the mid-dorsal region. [2] [3]

References

  1. ↑ WoRMS: Polycera quadrilineata; accessed : 30 September 2010
  2. ↑ THOMPSON, T.E. 1988. Molluscs: Benthic Opisthobranchs Linnean Society of London. ISBN 90 04 08439 8
  3. ↑ GOSLINER, T.M. 1987. Nudibranchs of Southern Africa ISBN 0-930118-13-8

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