Tritonia lineata
Alder & Hancock, 1848

Order: NUDIBRANCHIA
Suborder: DENDRONOTINA
Family: Tritoniidae

DISTRIBUTION

European Atlantic coast from south Norway to Mediterranean.

PHOTO

8 mile reef, Loch Etive on the west coast of Scotland. At 28 metres in 10 deg C water, an 18mm long individual, one of several found crawling on boulders. 22 July, 2001. Photo: Jim Anderson.

Animal translucent white in colour with a thin opaque white line running around the mantle just inside the line of the gills and around the anterior end of the mantle, broken only for the rhinophores bases. Posteriorly the lines join to form a single median line running to the posterior tip of the body. At the base of each gill, the white line runs out to the fill forming a rought triangular white patch on the inside edge of the gill bases. There is no white line edging the foot,

T. lineata has 4 tentacles on the oral veil. The egg ribbon consists of a simple spiral. This species grows to approx 34 mm in length. Its food is at present unknown. It is similar in colour to Tritonia festiva from the north Pacific.

  • Alder, J. & Hancock, A. (1848). Additions to the British species of Nudibranchiate Mollusca. Annals & Magazine of Natural History, 1(2): 189-192
Authorship details
Rudman, W.B., 1999 (September 8) Tritonia lineata Alder & Hancock, 1848. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/tritline

Related messages


Tritonia lineata from Adriatic

July 18, 2007
From: Anne Frijsinger

Hello Bill,

Since you are always interested in new records for a species, I send you these pictures of Tritonia lineata from the Adriatic. The pictures are not really great, but I wanted to share them anyway.

Locality: Selce, 30 metres, Croatia, Adriatic, 12 May 2007, Rocky wall. Length: 5 mm. Photographer: Anne Frijsinger.

Best regards,
Anne Frijsinger

annenmat@natuurlijkmooi.net

Frijsinger, A.H.T., 2007 (Jul 18) Tritonia lineata from Adriatic. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/20143

Dear Anne,
Thanks for these photos. They are the first I have from the Mediterranean. By coincidence, I am posting a message today [#20142 ] about Tritonia striata, also from the Mediterranean, which has black rather then white longitudinal lines.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2007 (Jul 18). Comment on Tritonia lineata from Adriatic by Anne Frijsinger. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/20143

Re: Tritonia lineata from Scotland

May 10, 2002
From: Marli Wakeling

Dear Bill,
I am interested in what is the diffence between this animal and Tritonia festiva from the North east Pacific. They appear identical visually.
Regards,
Marli Wakeling

scubamarli@excite.com

Wakeling, M., 2002 (May 10) Re: Tritonia lineata from Scotland. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/6936

Dear Marli,
I had a quick flick through the literature and am surprised no one seems to have made the comparison. May be because they are oceans apart no one has thought it very relevant. They certainly have similarities in colour but in T. lineata there is no white line edging the foot, and the white marking on the mantle are restricted to the edge of the mantle and a pair of inner lines which run out to each of the gills. In T. festiva there is a white edge to the foot and the mantle, and there a many more white markings on the mantle in the form of curves, rings, streaks and spots etc.

T. lineata also differs in having only 4 tentacles on the oral veil while T. festiva has up to 10 smaller tentacles. The egg ribbon also seems different with a simple spiral in T. lineata and a folded spiral in T. festiva. As far as anatomical details go I don't think there is enough information available to make a good comparison.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2002 (May 10). Comment on Re: Tritonia lineata from Scotland by Marli Wakeling. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/6936

Tritonia lineata from Scotland

May 9, 2002
From: Jim Anderson


Dear Dr. Rudman,
To help with your search for N. Atlantic images here are a couple of Tritonia lineata.

UPPER: St. Abbs on the east coast of Scotland, in the North Sea. A 13mm long specimen in 9 metres. August 1993
LOWER: At 8 mile reef, Loch Etive on the west coast of Scotland. At 28 metres in 10 deg C water, an 18mm long individual, one of several found crawling on boulders. 22 July, 2001.

Regards,
Jim A.

jander4454@aol.com

Anderson, J., 2002 (May 9) Tritonia lineata from Scotland. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/6800

Thanks Jim,
Bill Rudman