Atagema rugosa
Pruvot-Fol, 1951

Order: NUDIBRANCHIA
Suborder: DORIDINA
Superfamily: EUDORIDOIDEA
Family: Dorididae

DISTRIBUTION

Known from a few Mediterranean records. Also reported from South Africa.

PHOTO

Cape Town, 15m, Western Cape, Sth Africa, Atlantic, 28 January 2006, Reef with hard and soft corals. Length: 25 mm. Photographer: Andrew Taylor

Described from a single specimen from the Mediterranean coast of France, little is known of this species apart from one further record from southern Italy (Perrone, 1983a,b) where a specimen with a pair of black spots behind the rhinophores and another pair in front of the gills is reported. Gosliner (1987) identifies this species from the Atlantic coast of Sth Africa with Pruvot-Fol's species. The median ridge on the dorsum, between the gills and the rhinophores, certainly suggest a species of Atagema. Andrew Taylor's specimen, posted here, is identical in shape and colour to the photo in Gosliner (1987).

  • Gosliner,T.M. (1987)  Nudibranchs of Southern Africa, a guide to the Opisthobranchs of southern Africa. Sea Challengers, Monterey. 136 pages.
  • Perrone, A. S. (1983) Descrizione di un raro Nudibranco Mediterraneo: Atagema rugosa (Pruvot-Fol, 1951). Bollettino Malacologico, 19: 49-56.
  • Perrone, A. S. (1983) Record of Atagema rugosa Pruvot-Fol, 1951 (Opisthobranchia: Nudibranchia). Journal of Molluscan Studies, 49: 88.
  • Pruvot-Fol, A. (1951) Études des nudibranches de la Méditerranée. 2. Archives de Zoologie Expérimentale et Générale, Paris, 88: 1-80.
Authorship details
Rudman, W.B., 2006 (February 17) Atagema rugosa Pruvot-Fol, 1951. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/atagrugo

Related messages


Atagema rugosa from South Africa ?

February 17, 2006
From: Andrew Taylor

Hi Bill
Found this one at a dive site called Coral Gardens on the Atlantic seaboard off Cape Town . In Terrence Gosliner's book , Nudibranchs of Southern Africa it is referred to as Atagema rugosa but I couldn't find it in your database unless it has been re classified . Apparently described by Pruvot-Fol,1951 .

Locality: Cape Town, 15m, Western Cape, Sth Africa, Atlantic, 28 January 2006, Reef with hard and soft corals. Length: 25 mm. Photographer: Andrew Taylor

Hope this is of some use to you , and if I got the ID wrong you can help .
Thanks,
Andrew

andytuwphoto@gmail.com

Taylor, A.D., 2006 (Feb 17) Atagema rugosa from South Africa ?. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/15829

Dear Andrew,
This certainly looks ike the animal Terry identified as Atagema rugosa. There was no Fact Sheet for the species on the Forum because before now we had no record of the species on the Forum. After a quick look in the literature to find what is known about A. rugosa is very little. It was described from a single specimen for the mediterranean coast of France, and apart from a later record from southern Italy I can't find anything about it.

I often wonder why sponge-feeding dorids are often found on large algae, like your animal. I guess they have taken a wrong turning.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2006 (Feb 17). Comment on Atagema rugosa from South Africa ? by Andrew Taylor. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/15829