Duvaucelia odhneri

Duvaucelia odhneri, is a species of dendronotid nudibranch. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Tritoniidae.

Duvaucelia odhneri
White individual of Duvaucelia odhneri from France
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Heterobranchia
Order: Nudibranchia
Suborder: Cladobranchia
Family: Tritoniidae
Genus: Duvaucelia
Species:
D. odhneri
Binomial name
Duvaucelia odhneri
J. Tardy, 1963[1]
Synonyms
  • Tritonia nilsodhneri Marcus, 1983

The specific name odhneri is in honour of Swedish malacologist Nils Hjalmar Odhner. This species was originally described as Duvaucelia odhneri but this became a homonym of Tritonia odhneri Marcus, 1959 when the genus Duvaucelia was moved within Tritonia in 1983.[2] In 2020 the genus Duvaucelia was brought back into use and the name reverted to the original combination of Tardy, 1963.[3]

Distribution

This species is found in the north Atlantic Ocean off the United Kingdom, Ireland and France. It is also reported from South Africa but DNA evidence suggests that this is a distinct, as yet un-named, species.[3] Around the South African coast this species is found on both sides of the Cape Peninsula. It is known from 10–30 m.[4]

Description
Camouflage: the South African whip fan nudibranch and its egg ribbon

The South African whip fan nudibranch is a well-camouflaged animal which mimics the gorgonians on which it feeds. It is a small nudibranch, reaching 30 mm. Its branched rhinophores extend from cup-like sheaths. Paired branching projections down the length of the body resemble the feeding polyps of its prey species of sea fan.[5]

Ecology
The egg ribbon

The whip fan nudibranch feeds on gorgonians of the genus Eunicella. It lays a thin zigzag spiral of eggs around the main axis of these sea fans. The egg mass is also coloured to match the gorgonians.

References
  1. Tardy J. (1963). Description d'une nouvelle espèce de Tritoniidae: Duvaucelia odhneri, récoltée sur la côte atlantique française. Bulletin de l'Institut Océanographique de Monaco 60(1260): 1-10
  2. Marcus Ev. (1983). The western Atlantic Tritoniidae. Boletim de Zoologia, Universidade de São Paulo 7: 177-214.
  3. Korshunova, T.; Martynov, A. (2020). Consolidated data on the phylogeny and evolution of the family Tritoniidae (Gastropoda: Nudibranchia) contribute to genera reassessment and clarify the taxonomic status of the neuroscience models Tritonia and Tochuina. PLOS ONE. 15(11): e0242103.
  4. Gosliner, T.M. 1987. Nudibranchs of Southern Africa ISBN 0-930118-13-8
  5. Zsilavecz, G. 2007. Nudibranchs of the Cape Peninsula and False Bay. ISBN 0-620-38054-3
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