Felimare villafranca

Felimare villafranca
A much paler than average color form of Felimare villafranca
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
(unranked):	clade Heterobranchia clade Euthyneura clade Nudipleura clade Nudibranchia
Superfamily:	Doridoidea
Family:	Chromodorididae
Genus:	Felimare
Species:	F. villafranca
Binomial name
Felimare villafranca (Risso, 1818)
Synonyms[1]
Chromodoris coerulea (Risso, 1818) Chromodoris gracilis Rapp, L.W. Von, 1827 Chromodoris messinensis Ihering, 1880 Doris coerulea Risso, 1818 Doris gracilis Rapp, 1827 Doris marmorata Savigny, M.J.C.L. De, 1827 Doris pasini Verany, 1846 Doris pasinii Vérany, J.B., 1846 Doris pulcherrima Cantraine, 1835 Doris schultziana Chiaje, S. delle, 1841 Doris schultzii Delle Chiaje, 1841 Doris tenera O.G. Costa Doris tricolor Cantraine, F.J., 1835 Doris villae Verany, 1846 Doris villafranca Risso, 1818 (basionym) Glossodoris gracilis Rapp, L.W. Von, 1827 Glossodoris schultzii Chiaje, S. delle, 1841 Goniodoris elegans Deshayes, G.P., 1866 Goniodoris vivida Forbes, E., 1844 Hypselodoris midatlantica Gosliner, T.M., 1990 Hypselodoris villafranca (Risso, 1818)

Felimare villafranca is a species of colourful sea slug or dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae.^[1][2]

Felimare villafranca

A mating pair of nudibranchs, Felimare villafranca, Sagres, Portugal.

Distribution

This nudibranch is found on the coasts of the Eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea from France, the Bay of Biscay to Morocco, Cape Verde Islands, Canary Islands and the Azores.^[3]

Description

This species is predominantly dark blue in colour with a pattern of longitudinal yellow lines. The yellow lines branch and curve, sometimes forming a network in the middle of the back. At the edge of the mantle there is a double yellow line with a series of bright blue elongate patches or a broken blue line between it and the next set of lines which cover the back. A series of white patches may be positioned inside these blue markings. The rhinophores are translucent blue with opaque white pigment at the base of the club and in a line on the back; the tips are blue. The gills are also translucent blue with a midline of opaque white on the inner and outer faces. The body grows to a length of 40 mm.^[3]

References

1. Bouchet, P. (2012). Felimare villafranca. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2012-05-14
2. Johnson R.F. & Gosliner T.M. (2012)Traditional taxonomic groupings mask evolutionary history: A molecular phylogeny and new classification of the chromodorid nudibranchs. PLoS ONE 7(4): e33479
3. Valdes, A.., 2001 (January 24) Hypselodoris villafranca (Risso, 1818). [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.

• Ortea, J., Valdés, Á. & García-Gómez, J.C. (1996). Revisión de las especies atlánticas de la familia Chromodorididae (Mollusca: Nudibranchia) del grupo cromático azul. Avicennia suplemento 1: 1-165 page(s): 5
• Debelius, H. & Kuiter, R.H. (2007) Nudibranchs of the world. ConchBooks, Frankfurt, 360 pp. ISBN 978-3-939767-06-0 page(s): 111