Aplysia dactylomela Rang, 1928

Delgado, Marlon, Freire, Fúlvio Aurélio de Morais, Meirelles, Carlos Augusto Oliveira de, Padula, Vinicius, Bahia, Juliana & Brandão, Simone Nunes, 2022, Sea slugs (Gastropoda: Heterobranchia) from Rio Grande do Norte, Northeastern Brazil, Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia 62, pp. 1-26 : 9-10

14. Aplysia dactylomela Rang, 1928 ( Fig. 2N )

Material examined: Praia de Santa Rita, Extremoz, 26.IV.2009, one specimen, 76 mm (body length), leg. M. Delgado ( MZSP 97073), 05.I.2011, one specimen, 15 mm (body length), leg. M. Delgado ( GEEFAA 286). Praia de Cotovelo, Parnamirim, 01.II.2014, one specimen, 30 mm (body length),leg.M. Delgado ( GEEFAA 350).Praia de Pirambúzios,Nísia Floresta, 13.II.2014,fourty-five specimens, 80-280 mm (body length), phot. reg. M. Delgado. Praia de Tabatinga, Nísia Floresta, 15.II.2014, sixty specimens, 90-250 mm (body length), phot. reg. M. Delgado. Praia de Pipa, Tibau do Sul, 15. V.2014, eight specimens, 100-300 mm (body length), phot. reg. M. Delgado. Praia do Amor-Pipa, Tibau do Sul, 16. V.2014, seven specimens, 120-270 mm (body length), phot. reg. M. Delgado. Praia de Baia Formosa, Baia Formosa, 14. V.2014, fifteen specimens, 120-220 mm (body length), phot. reg. M. Delgado. Praia de Pitangui, Extremoz, 18.I.2019, one specimen, 80 mm (body length), leg. M. Delgado ( GEEFAA 1317), 27.XII.2019, one specimen, 210 mm (body length), phot. reg. M. Delgado.

Description: Elongated and rounded body, up to 130 mm in length. Color predominantly dark yellow, dotted with circular spots, varying sizes and shapes of black rings and a complex of thin lines on the sides of the parapodia. Head with prominent black eyes, cylindrical, retractable and elongated rhinophores with the apex in the form of an open leaf, a veil that is formed by the fusion of the cephalic tentacles. Parapodia located in the medial region and descending to the substrate plane, forming a small tail together with the muscular foot.

Geographic distribution: Mediterranean Sea: Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Malta, Montenegro, Turkey ( Valdés et al., 2013); Eastern Atlantic: Ascension Island, Canary Islands, Madeira, Savage Islands ( Cervera et al., 2004; Padula et al., 2014);Western Atlantic: Anguilla, Aruba, Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, Bonaire, Cayman Islands, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, CuraÇao, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, St. Kitts / St. Christopher, St. Lucia, St. Martin / St. Maarten, St.Vicent & the Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago, USA, Venezuela, Virgin Islands, Brazil (Alagoas, Bahia, Ceará, Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Norte, São Paulo, Santa Catarina) ( MacFarland, 1909; Rios, 1994; Bezerra et al., 2006; Rios,2009; Ourives et al., 2011; Martinez et al., 2012; Padula et al., 2012; Ferreira-Jr. et al., 2015; Galvão-Filho et al., 2015).

Remarks: Until recently, A. dactylomela was considered a circumtropical species. Alexander & Valdés (2013) performed an integrative study and concluded that the Indo-Pacific specimens belong to Aplysia argus Rüppell & Leuckart, 1830 . Aplysia dactylomela thus occurs in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranea Sea. Rios (1994) recorded A. dactylomela from the coast of Rio Grande do Norte as a result of the work of the german couple Ernst Marcus & Eveline Marcus in the 1960s. Years later, Martinez et al. (2012) recorded the species in the Parrachos of Maracajaú, as a result of a research on the macrobenthic community. The present work confirms the occurrence of A. dactylomela along the entire coast of Rio Grande do Norte.

Figures

Figure 2. Heterobranch sea slugs from Rio Grande do Norte. (A) Micromelo undatus (15 mm – GEEFAA 294); (B) Haminoea antillarum (2 mm – GEEFAA 344); (C)Camachoaglaja berolina(7 mm– GEEFAA270);(D)Chelidonurahirundinina(16mm– GEEFAA1320);(E)Navanaxgemmatus (40mm– MZSP97068);(F)Ascobulla ulla (7 mm – MZSP 97049); (G) Oxynoe antillarum (25 mm – GEEFAA 352); (H) Elysia canguzua (15 mm – GEEFAA 295); (I) Elysia pawliki (25 mm – MZSP 97061); (J) Elysia subornata (14 mm – MZSP 97050); (K) Thuridilla malaquita (15 mm – phot. reg.); (L) Caliphylla mediterranea (9 mm – GEEFAA 349); (M) Aplysia cervina (70mm – MZSP 97074); (N) Aplysia dactylomela (76 mm – MZSP 97073);(O) Bursatellaleachii (75 mm – GEEFAA 324).