Caliphylla mediterranea A. Costa, 1867

Delgado, Marlon, Freire, Fúlvio Aurélio de Morais, Meirelles, Carlos Augusto Oliveira de, Padula, Vinicius, Bahia, Juliana & Brandão, Simone Nunes, 2022, Sea slugs (Gastropoda: Heterobranchia) from Rio Grande do Norte, Northeastern Brazil, Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia 62, pp. 1-26 : 9

12. Caliphylla mediterranea A. Costa, 1867 ( Fig. 2L )

Material examined: Praia de Pirambúzios, Nísia Floresta, 05.I.2012, three specimens, 5-9 mm (body length), leg. M. Delgado ( GEEFAA 349).

Description: Elongated and cylindrical body.Translucent greenish color, with small black dots and whitish spots all over the body. Head prominent; however, it can be confused dorsal branches, with black eyes medial and posterior to the rhinophores, which are long, bifurcated and curled, presenting the sulcus with the ventral portion. Posterior foot long. Presence of flattened cerata in the shape of leaves of different sizes due to the ramifications of the digestive gland as branching veins, the largest being more dorsal and the least more lateral.

Geographic distribution: Mediterranean Sea: Italy, Spain ( Cervera et al., 2004); Eastern Atlantic: Canary Islands, Savage Islands, Senegal ( Marcus, 1977; Cervera et al., 2004); Central South Atlantic: Ascension ( Padula et al., 2014). Western Atlantic: USA, Mexico, Costa Rica, Virgin Islands, CuraÇao, Trinidad &Tobago, Brazil (Alagoas, Pernambuco, Fernando de Noronha, Rio Grande do Norte – present study, São Paulo) ( Valdés et al., 2006; García et al., 2008; Rosenberg et al., 2009; Padula et al., 2012; Galvão-Filho et al., 2015; Xavier et al., 2017).

Remarks: Alves et al. (2022) described Caliphylla yemanjae Alves, Lima, Johnsson & Neves 2022 from Bahia, northeastern Brazil, which according to the authors can be differentiated from C.mediterranea in the color of dorsal region,shape and size of cerata,and length and shape of posterior foot. The specimens herein studied present characteristics of both C. mediterranea and C. yemanjae , thus were provisionally identified as C. mediterranea . Alves et al. (2022) mentioned that Caliphylla yemanjae is only know from its type-locality.The confirmation of the identity of specimens from other regions of the western Atlantic waits a revisionary work.

Figures

Figure 2. Heterobranch sea slugs from Rio Grande do Norte. (A) Micromelo undatus (15 mm – GEEFAA 294); (B) Haminoea antillarum (2 mm – GEEFAA 344); (C)Camachoaglaja berolina(7 mm– GEEFAA270);(D)Chelidonurahirundinina(16mm– GEEFAA1320);(E)Navanaxgemmatus (40mm– MZSP97068);(F)Ascobulla ulla (7 mm – MZSP 97049); (G) Oxynoe antillarum (25 mm – GEEFAA 352); (H) Elysia canguzua (15 mm – GEEFAA 295); (I) Elysia pawliki (25 mm – MZSP 97061); (J) Elysia subornata (14 mm – MZSP 97050); (K) Thuridilla malaquita (15 mm – phot. reg.); (L) Caliphylla mediterranea (9 mm – GEEFAA 349); (M) Aplysia cervina (70mm – MZSP 97074); (N) Aplysia dactylomela (76 mm – MZSP 97073);(O) Bursatellaleachii (75 mm – GEEFAA 324).