Flabellina ischitana ? from the Canaries

March 24, 2006
From: Marina Poddubetskaia Ossokine

Dear Bill,

In addition to my previous message [#16147] here is the second Flabellina species found in Fuerteventura, together with Flabellina affinis.

Under the water I was convinced it was Flabellina ischitana, because these animals were very similar to Mediterranean F. ischitana. On your F. ischitana fact sheet, the geographical distribution is the Mediterranean only. But some months ago Lucas Cervera told me that there are some records of this species published in Western Andalusia and Portugal (Atlantic). So, I wouldn't be surprised to find it in Canary Islands too.

Locality: 'Veril Grande' , Jandia , 26m, Fuerteventura, Canary Islands, Atlantic Ocean, 9 March 2006, rocks and sand. Length: animal : 30 mm / eggs : 18-20 mm. Photographer: Marina Poddubetskaia Ossokine.

But the detail which makes me doubt about this ID is the related egg-mass.
The bunch of hydroid on which I found these 2 Flabellina species and eggs were far from any other fixed fauna. So, animals seemed completely restricted to it. The egg-masses visible on the photo seem to belong to 2 different species too. The bright pink egg-ribbon obviously fit Flabellina affinis present here. So, by a process of elimination, the pale pink egg-ribbon might belong to the second Flabellina species.

In their redescription of Flabellina ischitana (1998), Lucas Cervera, Garcia-Gomez and Lopez-Gonzalez write that the egg-ribbon is white in this species, not pink.

Also, in message #1039, Lucas Cervera is speaking about another pink Flabellina species I've never seen to compare with: F. alternata.

That's why I wanted to share my questioning with you and to ask your opinion on this animal.
Best wishes,
Marina.
Nembro website

nembro@nembro.info

Poddubetskaia Ossokine, M., 2006 (Mar 24) Flabellina ischitana ? from the Canaries. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/16148

See Lucas Cervera's message #16239 suggesting it is F. affinis

Dear Marina,

The exciting thing about this work is that we learn new things all the time. Certainly if you read a species is restricted to the Mediterranean it would not be surprising if it is found on the Atlantic coast just north and south of the Straits of Gibraltar. We just don't know enough as yet. The same with egg mass colour. Perhaps the egg masses change from white to purple during development or perhaps both purple and white egg masses are produced in one species. But then again you have an earlier photo on the Forum [message #7344] showing a white egg ribbon for F. ischitana.

My understanding is that F. alternata has the rhinophore lamellae - or really broken rings - arranged in an alternating pattern but in your animal the rings seem to be complete. It's hard to be sure but they look larger and thinner, and less rounded at the edge than in your photo of F. affinis. The ceratal wall is fairly transparent, which is a character of F. ischitana, but it looks quite like the cerata in your other message [# 16147] so I think I will wait until we get comments from Lucas Cervera

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2006 (Mar 24). Comment on Flabellina ischitana ? from the Canaries by Marina Poddubetskaia Ossokine. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/16148

Factsheet

Flabellina affinis

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