Polycera quadrilineata

Polycera quadrilineata, is a sea slug, a species of dorid nudibranch. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Polyceridae. The specific epithet quadrilineata means four-lined and refers to the four longitudinal black lines present on the original specimen. This species is sometimes called the fourline nudibranch. In 2020 a integrative molecular and morphological study showed that P. quadrilineata was a complex of two species in the NE Atlantic and one of these species was given the new name Polycera norvegica.

Polycera quadrilineata
Polycera quadrilineata from France
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Mollusca
Class:
Gastropoda
(unranked):
clade Heterobranchia
clade Euthyneura
clade Nudipleura
clade Nudibranchia
clade Euctenidiacea
clade Doridacea
clade Euarminida
Superfamily:
Polyceroidea
Family:
Polyceridae
Subfamily:
Polycerinae
Genus:
Polycera
Species:
P. quadrilineata
Binomial name
Polycera quadrilineata
Synonyms[2]
  • Doris cornuta Rathke, 1806[3]
  • Doris flava Montagu, 1804[4]
  • Doris marplatensis Franceschi, 1928
  • Doris quadrilineata O.F. Müller, 1776
  • Polycera lineatus Risso, 1826[5]
  • Polycera mediterranea Bergh, 1879
  • Polycera nigrolineata Dautzenberg & Durouchoux, 1913[6]
  • Polycera nigropicta Ihering, 1885[7]
  • Polycera ornata d'Orbigny, 1837[8]
  • Polycera salamandra Labbé, 1931[9]
  • Polycera typica W. Thompson, 1840[10]
  • Polycera varians M. Sars, 1840
  • Thecacera capitata Alder & Hancock, 1854[11]

Distribution

This nudibranch was described originally from Norway.[1] In the NE Atlantic it is a common species in shallow water.[12] It is distributed from Greenland to Norway and south along the European coasts into the Mediterranean Sea. It is found from the intertidal zone to 160 m.

It has also been reported off the South African coast from the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula to Algoa Bay.[13] The South African animals differ in having six instead of four papillae projecting from the frontal margin of the head, plus details of the coloration. These animals have been shown to be an undescribed species by studies in 2014 and 2020.[14][15]

The nudibranch Polycera quadrilineata, Gulen Dive Resort, Norway.

Description

Polycera quadrilineata is a smooth-bodied, variably coloured nudibranch. The ground colour is white or grey and there are usually black, yellow or orange stripes longitudinally along the notum, though these can be absent. The head has four or occasionally six yellow projections. The gills and rhinophores are translucent white, tipped with yellow. There are two processes at the sides of the gill cluster with glandular, orange or yellow pigmented tips matching the general orange or yellow colour of the body pigmentation.[16]

In the South African animals the gills and rhinophores are black, and may be spotted with yellow. Alongside the gills is a pair of yellow-tipped projections. The animal may reach 20mm in total length. It is distinguished from the crowned nudibranch in having raised yellow spots on the mid-dorsal region.[13]

Ecology

Polycera quadrilineata feeds mostly on the bryozoans Membranipora membranacea and Electra pilosa.[12]

References
  1. Müller, Otto Frederik. (1776) Zoologiae Danicae. Prodromus seu animalium Daniae et Norvegiae ingenarum characteres, nomina, et synonyma imprimis popularium, xxxii + 282 pp.
  2. MolluscaBase (2019). MolluscaBase. Polycera quadrilineata (O. F. Müller, 1776). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2019-10-11.
  3. Rathke J., 1806. [in] Müller O. F., Zoologia Danica ed. III
  4. Montagu G., 1804. Description of several marine animals found on the South coast of Devonshire ; Transactions of the Linnean Society of London 7: 61-85
  5. Risso A., 1826-1827. Histoire naturelle des principales productions de l'Europe Méridionale et particulièrement de celles des environs de Nice et des Alpes Maritimes; Paris, Levrault
  6. Dautzenberg P. & Durouchoux P., 1913-1914: Les mollusques de la baie de Saint-Malo: Feuille des Jeunes Naturalistes 43-44 (Suppl.): 1-64, pl. 1-4
  7. Ihering H. von, 1886. Beiträge zur kenntnis der Nudibranchien des Mittelmeeres. Part 2; Malakozoologische Blätter N.F. 8: 12-48
  8. Orbigny A. D. d', 1837. Mémoire sur des espèces et sur des genres nouveaux de l'ordre des nudibranches observés sur les côtes de France ; Revue et Magasin de Zoologie 7 (5): 1-16
  9. Labbé A., 1931. Les Polycerades de la station du Croisic et description sommaire d'une espèce nouvelle : Polycera salamandra n. sp.; Bulletin de la Société Zoologique de France 56 : 19-24.
  10. Thompson W., 1840. Contributions towards a knowledge of the Mollusca Nudibranchia and Mollusca Tunicata of Ireland, with descriptions of some apparently new species of Invertebrata ; Annals and Magazine of Natural History 5 (29): 84-102
  11. Alder J. & Hancock A. (1854). Notice of some new species of British Nudibranchiata. Annals and Magazine of Natural History. ser. 2, 14: 102-105.
  12. Picton, B.E. & Morrow, C.C., 2010. Polycera quadrilineata [In] Encyclopedia of Marine Life of Britain and Ireland.
  13. Gosliner, T.M. 1987. Nudibranchs of Southern Africa ISBN 0-930118-13-8
  14. Palomar, G.; Pola, M.; Garcia-Vazquez, E. (2014). First molecular phylogeny of the subfamily Polycerinae (Mollusca, Nudibranchia, Polyceridae). Helgoland Marine Research. 68(1): 143-153.
  15. Sørensen C.G., Rauch C., Pola M. & Malaquias M.A.E. (2020). Integrative taxonomy reveals a cryptic species of the nudibranch genus Polycera (Polyceridae) in European waters. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. DOI: 10.1017/s0025315420000612, pp. 1-20.
  16. Thompson, T.E. 1988. Molluscs: Benthic Opisthobranchs Linnean Society of London. ISBN 90 04 08439 8
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