Re: Berthella aurantiaca? from French Mediterranean

July 19, 2002
From: J. L. Cervera

Dear Marina and Bill,
It is impossible for me to be 100% sure of the specific identification of this pleurobranchid. Berthella aurantiaca and Berthellina edwardsii can be distinguished clearly by the shape of their radular teeth and their jaw elements. But externally is difficult. In my experience, the shell of Berthella can be detected through the mantle surface. You can't do this with the small shell in Berthellina edwardsii. The shell in B. aurantica covers almost all the visceral mass, while in Berthellina only covers a very small part of this.

I consider that Berthella aurantiaca is not a common species in Mediterranean, and many of the records in that area attributed to B. aurantiaca belongs to B. edwardsii in fact, but I cannot prove this. It's only my impression. With this in mind, I think that the Marina's animal is quite probably Berthellina edwardsii.

I hope this can help you.
Regards.
Lucas.

lucas.cervera@uca.es

Cervera, J.L., 2002 (Jul 19) Re: Berthella aurantiaca? from French Mediterranean. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/7596

Thanks Lucas,
Your comments are exactly the reason I hesitated about the identity of this animal. I gues we can never be sure, but I think I'll put it on the Berthellina edwardsii page.

Marina, next time you find any orange, yellow or pale whitish animal like this it might be an idea to gently press its back and see if you can feel a hard layer just under the skin. Its certainly quite easy to detect the difference between a 'squashy' back of Berthellina and the more rigid back of a Berthella.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2002 (Jul 19). Comment on Re: Berthella aurantiaca? from French Mediterranean by J. L. Cervera. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/7596

Factsheet

Berthellina edwardsii

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