Pruvotfolia pselliotes
(Labbe, 1923)

Order: NUDIBRANCHIA
Family: Glaucidae

DISTRIBUTION

Known from the Atlantic coast of France, Mediterranean coast of Spain. Reported here from Turkey & Senegal.

PHOTO

Istanbul, Turkey, Divesite: Yassiada, Depth: 27m
Size: 5cm. 30 September 2001. Photo: Baki Yokes

Pruvotfolia pselliotes was initially described under the name of Facelina pselliotes. It has a very distinctive arrangement of modified cerata associated with the reproductive apparatus which Tardy felt justified the creation of a new genus for it in 1969. Its body is translucent and tinted with brown on the oral tentacles, rhinophores and back. There are numerous opaque white spots on the body. The oral tentacles are long, stout at the base, tapering to fine points. They have yellow-ochre pigment at the tips and in a band midway along them. The rhinophores have similar pigmentation and have about thirty fine lamellae. The cerata have two yellow-ochre bands and a yellow-ochre tip. They are numerous and range in size from very small ones at the sides to long muscular ones in the centre of the back which are normally coiled inwards but can be flexed vigorously when the animal is disturbed. These long ones can easily be shed (autotomised) and regrow quite quickly. Other species with similar cerata are Caloria elegans and Moridilla brocki.

Tardy found numerous animals intertidally at a few sites on the French Atlantic coast where they were feeding on a variety of hydroids. The spawn coil as laid in his aquarium was a fine spiral. Gosliner (1987) has proposed that Facelina faurei Barnard, 1927 described from South Africa, is an earlier name but colour differences suggest further comparative study is required before this can be determined.

References:
• Gosliner, T.E. (1987) The Nudibranchs of Southern Africa. Sea Challengers & Jeff Hamann: Monterey.
• Tardy, J. P. (1969). Un nouveau genre de nudibranche méconnu des côtes Atlantique et de la Manche: Pruvotfolia (nov. g.) pselliotes, (Labbe) 1923. Vie et Milieu (A), Biologie Marine, 20(2): 327-346, 6 pls.
• Ortea, J. A., & Urgorri, V. (1981). Runcina ferruginea Kress 1977, et Pruvotfolia pselliotes (Labbe, 1923) dans les eaux Ibériques. Vie et Milieu, 31(2): 149-151.

Authorship details
Picton, B.E., 2001 (November 1) Pruvotfolia pselliotes (Labbe, 1923) . [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet/pruvpsel

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