Ancula gibbosa

Ancula gibbosa, common name Atlantic ancula, is a species of dorid nudibranch. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Goniodorididae.

Atlantic ancula
Chromolithograph of Ancula gibbosa from Kunstformen der Natur (1904)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Heterobranchia
Order: Nudibranchia
Suborder: Doridina
Superfamily: Onchidoridoidea
Family: Goniodorididae
Genus: Ancula
Species:
A. gibbosa
Binomial name
Ancula gibbosa
(Risso, 1818)[1]
Synonyms[2]
  • Tritonia gibbosa Risso, 1818
  • Polycera cristata Alder, 1841[3]
  • Miranda cristata (Alder, 1841)
  • Ancula sulphurea Stimpson, 1853
  • Ancula pacifica MacFarland, 1905

Distribution

This species was described from the Mediterranean Sea at Nice, France. It has a wide distribution from there along the Atlantic coast to Norway, Greenland, Iceland and across to New England on the coast of North America. Ancula pacifica apparently has a number of colour varieties which closely approach this species and is currently believed to be a synonym.[4]

The nudibranch Ancula gibbosa, Rathlin Island, Northern Ireland.

Description

This goniodorid nudibranch has a translucent white body with yellow or white tipped processes.[5]

Ecology

Ancula gibbosa feeds on Ectoprocta. It has been reported to possibly feed on a variety of sessile organisms, but these are just the substratum to which the ectoprocts are attached.[5]

References
  1. (in French) Risso A. (1818). "Memoire sur quelques Gasteropodes nouveaux, Nudibranches et Tectibranches observes dans la Mer de Nice". Journal de Physique, de Chimie, d'Histoire Naturelle et des Arts 87: 368-377. Tritonia gibbosa is on the page 371.
  2. "Ancula gibbosa (Risso, 1818)". Malacolog Version 4.1.1. A Database of Western Atlantic Marine Mollusca. Accessed 17 February 2010.
  3. Alder J. (1841). "Observations on the genus Polycera of Cuvier, with descriptions of two new British species". Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 6 (38): 337–342. doi:10.1080/03745484109442937.
  4. Rudman, W.B., 2000 (March 24) Ancula gibbosa (Risso, 1818). [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.
  5. Picton, B.E. & Morrow, C.C., 2010. Ancula gibbosa [In] Encyclopedia of Marine Life of Britain and Ireland.
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