Amphorina andra Korshunova, Malmberg, Prkic, Petani, Fletcher, Lundin, Martynov 2020
Creators: name: Salvador, Xavier
name: Fernández-Vilert, Robert
name: Moles, Juan
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Mollusca
Gastropoda
Nudibranchia
Eubranchidae
Amphorina
Amphorina andra

description: Amphorina andra Korshunova, Malmberg, Prkić, Petani, Fletcher, Lundin,
Martynov, 2020
(Figure 4 (b))
Material examined
Cala d’Aiguafreda, Begur (Spain), 41°57 ʹ 49”N, 3°13 ʹ 41”E, 22 June 2013, 18 m depth, 1 spc., juvenile, L = 3 mm (GROC 2009_2021); Balaruc-les-Bains (France), 43°26 ʹ 28.8”N, 3°41 ʹ 3”E, 5 April 2014, 2 m depth, 2 spcs, adults, L = 10–15 mm; Barra de l’Arbre, Mataró (Spain), 41° 31 ʹ 57.9”N, 2°28 ʹ 21.2”E, 1 May 2014, 20 m depth, 1 spc., juvenile, H = 2 mm; Punta del Romaní, L’Escala (Spain), 42°6 ʹ 54”N, 3°10 ʹ 9”E, 12 April 2015, 4 m depth, 3 spcs, adults, L = 10–12 mm; Cala Maset caves, Sant Feliu de Guíxols (Spain), 41°47 ʹ 10”N, 3°2 ʹ 44”E, 16 January 2018, 1 m depth, 2 spcs, adults, L = 10 mm; 16 January 2018, 1 m depth, 2 spcs, adults and egg masses, L = 10–12 mm; 22 January 2018, 0.7 m depth, 6 spcs, adults, mating and egg masses, L = 12–15 mm; 16 February 2018, 1.2 m depth, 2 spcs, adults, L = 8–10 mm; 9 March 2018, 0.6 m depth, 6 spcs, adults, mating and egg masses, L = 10– 15 mm; Punta d’en Bosch, Sant Feliu de Guíxols (Spain), 41°45 ʹ 54”N, 3°0 ʹ 11”E, 17 April 2018, 1 m depth, 5 spcs, adults mating, L = 8–12 mm; Cova de l’infern (Spain), 42°19 ʹ 2.75”N, 3°19 ʹ 12.74”E, 2 March 2019, 1 m depth, 3 spcs, adults and egg masses, L = 10–20 mm.
External morphology
Body elongate, narrow, background colour variable, typically white with black and orange marks, some specimens with completely white or orange colouration. Rhinophores and oral tentacles smooth and yellow, white apically. Cerata globular, with white and black marks, apical part yellow.
Ecology
Specimens found at a broad range of depths, always associated with hydrozoan colonies. The specimens of Sant Feliu were found inside a cave and associated with hydrozoans of the genus Sertularella, on which they often lay their egg masses. Active at night, mating and laying eggs. During the day they are found at the base of the hydrozoans. The egg mass is spiral-shaped, usually laid on rocks, but also on the hydrozoans upon which they feed.
Distribution
Italy and Croatia (Korshunova et al. 2020); France (this study); Spain: Catalonia (this study).
Remarks
This species was recently described, but up to now it was considered a morphotype of Eubranchus farrani, now Amphorina farrani (Alder and Hancock 1845). Amphorina andra is variable in body colour, from completely white or orange to a white with black spots and orange circles on the dorsum. Specimens found at deeper depths were typically small, whereas specimens found at very shallow depths, mostly in caves, were larger and found on hydrozoan colonies of the genera Obelia and Sertularella, among others. Populations observed in Croatia were in shallow waters, between 0 and 0.5 m (Korshunova et al. 2020), as was the population studied in Sant Feliu, Catalonia (Spain).
description: Published as part of Salvador, Xavier, Fernández-Vilert, Robert & Moles, Juan, 2022, Sea slug night fever: 39 new records of elusive heterobranchs in the western Mediterranean (Mollusca: Gastropoda), pp. 265-310 in Journal of Natural History 56 (5 - 8) on pages 283-284, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2022.2040630, http://zenodo.org/record/6758438