Facelinopsis marioni
(Vayssiere, 1888)

Order: NUDIBRANCHIA
Suborder: AEOLIDINA
Family: Glaucidae

DISTRIBUTION

western Mediterranean

PHOTO

Divesite "La Foradada" (depth 12m), Village of Portbou, at the Spanish French border. 15mm long. PHOTO: Lluís Aguilar.

It is an small aeolid (up to 15mm long). It has an iridiscent line across the dorsum. Oral tentacles and rhinophores are also pink with a lighter shade of color on the tips. Curved cerata, a quite characteristic trait, with the front part colored white. It is typically found in shallow waters, dark places and overhangs.
Miquel Pontes.

Reference:
• Vayssiere, A. (1874). Recherches zoologiques et anatomiques sur les mollusques Opisthobranches du Golfe de Marseille. pt. 2, Nudibranches (Cirrobranches) et Ascoglosses. Ann. Mus. Hist. Nat. Marseille, 3(4): 1-160, pls. 1-7

Authorship details
Pontes, M. , 2000 (February 7) Facelinopsis marioni (Vayssiere, 1888). [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/facemari

Related messages


Facelinopsis marioni from Mediterranean

February 8, 2000
From: Miquel Pontes

This is the Facelinopsis marioni (picture by Lluís Aguilar). It is a small (1.5cm) pink colored nudibranch we came across in a shallow dive (12m) at the Spanish French border, in a dive site named "La Foradada", in the village of Portbou.

It has an iridiscent line across the dorsum. Oral tentacles and rhinophores are also pink with a lighter shade of color on the tips. Curved cerata, a quite characteristic trait, with the front part colored white.

It is considered to be typical of shallow waters, dark places and overhangs.

We are interested on this nudibranch etymology. We know that "Facelina" means "striped face" thanks to Bernard Picton's book, but have no idea of the suffix "-opsis". About Marioni, we think it is dedicated to Antoine-Fortuné Marion, (1846-1900) French zoologist and conservator of the Marseille Natural History Museum.

Any other information will be welcome.

Miquel Pontes

mpontes@marenostrum.org

Pontes, M., 2000 (Feb 8) Facelinopsis marioni from Mediterranean. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/1865

Dear Miquel,
I am not an expert on classical languages but I think '-opsis' is a diminutive ending meaning little or small. In this case 'small Facelina'.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.

Rudman, W.B., 2000 (Feb 8). Comment on Facelinopsis marioni from Mediterranean by Miquel Pontes. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/1865