Paraflabellina ischitana | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | |
Phylum: | |
Class: | |
(unranked): | clade
Heterobranchia
clade
Euthyneura |
Superfamily: | |
Family: | |
Genus: | |
Species: | P. ischitana
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Binomial name | |
Paraflabellina ischitana Hirano & Thompson, 1990
[1]
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Paraflabellina ischitana is a species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Flabellinidae. [2]
The name ischitana means from Ischia, the island from where this nudibranch was first named. [3]
This species is found in Mediterranean waters around Spain in such locations as Costa Brava, [4] and in the Tyrrhenian Sea, especially around Ischia (hence the species Latin name). [3] [5] [6]
Paraflabellina ischitana usually can be found in shallow water, but it can also reach depths of 35 m. [3]
This species can grow to a length of approximately 4 cm and is mostly purple-violet in colour. It has opaque white-tipped certa, rhinophores, and oral tentacles. The rhinophores are annulate. [7] Due to the somewhat transparent skin of the ceras, the branches of the digestive gland are visible, and appear as red-orange. [3] [5] [6] [8] [9] [10]
Paraflabellina ischitana is often confused with Flabellina affinis, but can be distinguished as follows: [3] [6]
Paraflabellina ischitana is also similar to Edmundsella pedata, but they can be distinguished on the basis of their rhinophores: [7]
This nudibranch likely eats hydroids of the genus Eudendrium ( Eudendrium racemosum and Eudendrium glomeratum) as its main food source. [3] [5] [8]
Like other nudibranchs, this species is hermaphrodite. Mating occurs in late spring. [6] The egg case is whitish or reddish, [8] with thousands of eggs of about 70 microns. The nudibranch places the egg case on the branches of hydrozoa. [6]