Aegires sublaevis
Odhner, 1932

Order: NUDIBRANCHIA
Suborder: DORIDINA
Superfamily: ANADORIDOIDEA
Family: Aegiretidae

DISTRIBUTION

This species has been reported from the Mediterranean Sea, the Canary Islands, Bermuda, Carribean coast of Panama, (Thompson 1981) and the Galápagos Islands (see, Fahey & Gosliner (2004))

PHOTO

Upper right: Ponta de Galora, Azores, collected July 1988, CASIZ 168923, 12 mm, Photo: T. Gosliner. Lower right: Punta Cormorant, Isla Floreana, Galápagos Islands, no depth available, collected September 1991, CASIZ 078393, 8 mm, Photo: T. Gosliner. [From from Fahey & Gosliner (2004) with permission].

The body is tough and rigid, and ranges in colour from lemon yellow to a pale brownish white, made up of a translucent background colour and a close scattering of fine pigment spots. There are also some large scattered greyish brown spots, each edged with a ring of the opaque background colouration. There is a low rounded median dorsal ridge which widens posteriorly to form a trilobed gill cover, and anteriorly it spilts to form a raised rhinophore pocket on each side. There are few stalked dorsal tubercles, as found in other species of Aegires, but there are low some rounded bumps scattered over the dorsum. In Atlantic specimens there is a distinct lateral ridge, or mantle edge, down each side of the body. It grows to approximately 12 mm in length.

It is reported to feed on the yellow sponge Clathrina coriacea [Ros, 1977 - Canary Ids] and Clathrina sp. [Thompson, 1981 - Bermuda].

• Fahey, S. J. & Gosliner, T. M. (2004) A Phylogenetic Analysis of the Aegiridae Fischer, 1883 (Mollusca, Nudibranchia, Phanerobranchia) with Descriptions of Eight New Species and a Reassessment of Phanerobranch Relationships. Proceedings of the CaliforniaAcademy of Sciences, 55, (34): 613–689, 82 figs., 4 tables (Appendix).
• Ros, J. (1977) La defensa en los opistobranquios. Investigacion y Ciencia 12: 48-60.
• Schmekel, L., AND A. Portmann. (1982) Opisthobranchia des Mittelmeeres. Nudibranchia und Saccoglossa. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. 410 pp.
• Templado, J., A. Luque, & Ortea, J. (1987) A new species of Aegires Lovén, 1844 (Opisthobranchia: Doridacea: Aegiretidae) from the Caribbean Sea: Aegires ortizi spec. nov., with comparative descriptions of the North Atlantic species of this genus. The Veliger 29(3): 303–307.
• THOMPSON, T.E. (1981) Redescription of a rare north Atlantic doridacean nudibranch, Aegires sublaevis Odhner. The Veliger 23(4): 315–316.
• ODHNER, N. (1932) Beiträge zur malakozoologie der Kanarischen Inseln, Lamellibranchien, Cephalopoden, Gastropoden. Arkiv för Zoologi 23A(14): 1–116.

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