Trapania hispalensis
Cervera & Garcia-Gomez, 1989
Order: NUDIBRANCHIA
Suborder: DORIDINA
Superfamily: ANADORIDOIDEA
Family: Goniodorididae
DISTRIBUTION
Known from few records from Ceuta, Nth Africa, to Faro, Portugal. Reported to be quite common in Straits of Gibraltar (Ocaña Martin et al, 2000)
PHOTO
Faro, Portugal. Depth: 15 m. 06 May 2005. Photographer: David Abecasis
Note added 20 Sept 2007: This species and T. tartanella are very difficult to distinguish externally and it is possible some identifications on the Forum are incorrect. See message #20698.
The shape of the animal is typical for the genus, especially characterised by the two pairs of recurved tapering lateral papillae, one alongside the rhinophores and the other just behind the gills. The body is translucent white with yellow rhinophore clubs and at least the upper half of the lateral papillae and oral tentacles being coloured yellow. The whitish gills are edged in yellow as is the posterior tip of the body/foot.
For a long time people thought species of Trapania must feed on sponges, because they were often found, like this species, on particular sponges with their heads down looking like they were feeding. However if you look carefully at the sponges you will find dense clusters of microscopic stalked animals called entoprocts or kamptozoans, which are what species of Trapania really eat. In the lower photo I have ringed a couple of areas with many kamptozoans. It grows to at least 14 mm in length.
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Cervera, J.L. & Garcia-Gomez, J.C. (1989) Dos nuevas especies de Trapania Pruvot-Fol, 1931 (Gastropoda: Nudibranchia) del sur de Espana. Boll. Malacol., 24(9-12): 189-204.
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Ocana Martin, A., Sanchez Tocino, L., Lopez Gonzalez, S. & Viciana Martin, J.E. (2000) Guía Submarina de Invertebrados No Artrópodos. 2nd Ed.
Rudman, W.B., 2005 (September 8) Trapania hispalensis Cervera & Garcia-Gomez, 1989 . [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/traphisp
Related messages
Trapania hispalensis from Portugal - feeding
September 8, 2005
From: David Abecasis
I wonder if you can give me a hand identifying these sea slugs.
Locality: Faro, Portugal. Depth: 15 m. 06 May 2005. Photographer: David Abecasis
David Abecasis
davidbecas@netcabo.pt
Abecasis, D.A., 2005 (Sep 8) Trapania hispalensis from Portugal - feeding. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/14717
Dear David,
This is Trapania hispalensis. For a long time people thought species of Trapania must feed on sponges, because they were often found, like your two animals, spending a lot of time on particular sponges with their heads down looking like they were feeding. However if you look carefully at the sponges you will find dense clusters of microscopic stalked animals called entoprocts or kamptozoans, which are what species of Trapania really eat. In the middle photo I have ringed a couple of area where there are quite a few kamptozoans, and in the bottom half of the lower photo the sponge is totally covered by kamptozoans. Even though you didn't know it, this photo is a good example of Trapania and its food. It is also a new species to add to the Forum
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
