Pneumodermopsis canephora Pruvot-Fol, 1924

Salvador, Xavier, Fernández-Vilert, Robert & Moles, Juan, 2022, Sea slug night fever: 39 new records of elusive heterobranchs in the western Mediterranean (Mollusca: Gastropoda), Journal of Natural History 56 (5 - 8), pp. 265-310 : 292

Pneumodermopsis canephora Pruvot-Fol, 1924

( Figure 5 (d))

Material examined

Montiel , Tamariu ( Spain), 41°54 ʹ 55.9”N, 3°12 ʹ 46.3”E, 13 February 2019, 1 m depth, 9 spcs, adults, L = 7–10 mm; Montiel, Tamariu ( Spain), 41°54 ʹ 55.9”N, 3°12 ʹ 46.3”E, 12 March 2021, 3 m depth, 1 spc., adult, L = 5 mm; Cala Sa Tuna , 41°57 ʹ 38”N, 3°13 ʹ 52”E, 31 March 2021, 1 m depth, 2 spcs, juvenile and adult, L = 2–10 mm .

External morphology

Body rounded, transparent, with numerous glands, dark chromatophores can be seen by transparency all over body. Lateral gill extremely long, posterior gill absent. Posterior end with two ciliated bands. Head with two apical tentacles.

Ecology

Found in open waters close to the surface and with other pteropods and pelagic salps.

Distribution

North Atlantic ( OBIS 2021); Mediterranean Sea ( Pruvot-Fol 1924); this is the first report of this gastropod from the Catalan coast ( Spain).

Remarks

Mostly found in North Atlantic waters ( Pruvot-Fol 1924) . Of the eight specimens collected and housed alive in the same container, two disappeared along with some other species of pteropods, likely indicating that in stressful situations this species may be cannibalistic.

Order RUNCINIDA

Family RUNCINIDEA H. Adams and A. Adams, 1854

Genus Runcina Forbes [in Forbes and Hanley], 1851

Figures

Figure 5. Photographs of live Pteropoda species: (a) Creseis virgula. (b) Hyalocylis striata. (c) Peracle reticulata. (d) Pneumodermopsis canephora. Runcinida: (e) Runcina ornata. Sacoglossa: (f) Aplysiopsis elegans. (g) Caliphylla mediterránea. (h) Cyerce graeca.