Aeolidia cf. campbellii (Cunningham, 1871)

Cetra, Nicolás & Roche, Andrea, 2023, Nudibranchia (Mollusca: Gastropoda) from San Matías Gulf, Northern Argentine Patagonia, Zootaxa 5244 (5), pp. 455-473 : 463-466

Aeolidia cf. campbellii (Cunningham, 1871)

( Figures 4G, 4F , 5G )

Material examined. Argentina, Río Negro : Las Grutas, two specimens, (MLP-Ma 14575); Bahía San Antonio, one specimen, intertidal, March 2014 .

Description. Length up to 40 mm, body broad and relatively low, tapering to the posterior end of the foot. Gray, reddish, or transparent violet with white and gray spots. 20 rows of flattened cerata wider at the base. Each row contains up to 25 cerata that decrease in size towards the posterior end of the foot. Rhinophores conical, blunt and smooth. Oral tentacles translucent, longer than rhinophores and with white tips ( Figure 4G, 4F ). Radular formula 19 x 0.1.0 (MLP-Ma 14575). The radular teeth are progressively smaller towards the posterior region of the radula and have up to 100 denticles each ( Figure 5G ).

Geographic distribution and depth range. Until now recorded from South America, in the Malvinas (Faklands) Islands, and Chilean Patagonia to Valparaiso ( Kienberger et al. 2016). Here extended to SMG. Found under rocks in the intertidal zone.

Remarks. Based on molecular analysis Kienberger et al. (2016) considered specimens from the Chilean coast, previously attributed to Aeolidia papillosa , as a different species: Aeolidia campbellii (Cunningham 1871) , originally described from Tierra del Fuego. Scarabino (1977) reported A. papillosa in the San Matías gulf, however, specimens from the western Atlantic coast were not included in the work of Kienberger et al. (2016), so morphoanatomical and molecular studies of are necessary to confirm their identification.

Figures

FIGURE 4. (A) Trapania rocheae, (B) Cadlina sparsa, (C) Polycera marplatensis, (D) egg mass of Polycera marplatensis, (E) Spurilla braziliana, (F) egg mass of Spurilla braziliana, (G-F) Aeolidia cf. campbellii photo by Nicolás Battini.

FIGURE 5. Scanning electron micrographs. (A–B) Trapania rocheae (MLP-Ma 14834), (A) radular teeth, (B) jaw, detail of the masticatory border. (C-D) Cadlina sparsa (MLP-Ma 14658), (C) radular teeth, (D) detail of the lateral teeth. (E–F) Polycera marplatensis (MLP-Ma 14661), (E) radular teeth, (F) detail of the lateral teeth. (G) Aeolidia cf. campbellii (MLP-Ma 14575): radular teeth. (H) Spurilla braziliana (MLP-Ma 14659): radular teeth.