Piseinotecus gaditanus

Bülent Kılınç Spanish Dancer Gökçeada Turkey Nikon d800E 60 mm f18 1/200 ISO 100 Z240 Strobes

Jenny Wong Spanish dancer? Lot difference from the one i used to saw!

Krzysiek Ro Gal Beautiful Lady :-)

João Pedro Silva Looks like a sea hare, not a spanish dancer which is a common name associated with a nudibranch (Hexabranchus sanguineus) not occurring in the Mediterranean (at least yet...).

João Pedro Silva It actually a cephalaspidean, a head shield slug: Gastropteron rubrum. More info at the Sea Slug Forum: http://www.seaslugforum.net/gastrubr.htm

João Pedro Silva This goes to show the use of common names in these animals is often misleading. Here's a post by Bill Rudman on the subject of using common names for sea slugs: http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/common

Ron Silver Use of common names period is misleading! Long live binomial nomenclature - even if it is constantly changing. LOL

João Pedro Silva Even then, Ron Silver. While writing the field guide on the Sea Slugs of the Algarve we had to do many changes: the Chromodorididae were all revised a few months before we delivered the manuscript.

Ron Silver I know. The use of genetic testing is basically rewriting the science (art?) of classification and certainly seems to be tolling the death knell of the 'lumpers vs. splitters' arguments of days gone by!

João Pedro Silva But this photo and the consequent comments have shown there are some exceptions. This was not a case of simply using a common name for several unrelated species: no one uses "spanish dancer" for Gastropterum rubrum. It is a case of misidentification. There are 3 or 4 common names in some languages which can be used to positively identify a species. One of those cases is precisely "spanish dancer" as everyone knows it refers to Hexabranchus sanguineus. Other is the Mediterranean and Atlantic Peldororis atromaculata which is called in several latin languages (but not french) "small cow" (and variations on the same theme). When someone tells me he or she has seen a small cow I can be sure they have seen Peltodoris atromaculata. Most of the other names are useless an can be used to refer several unrelated species even within the same distribution range (let alone in different oceans...).

João Pedro Silva I think there are "lumping" and "splitting" periods and even overlapping sometimes. And DNA analysis (actually, some scientists consider the gene loci used so far may not be good enough) may provide information which goes both ways. For instance, the latest revision on Aeolidiidae hints on Aeolidia papillosa actually being a complex of 3 species... and the control specimen used (from other families) hint towards Flabellina confusa and Piseinotecus gaditanus being the same species (I think synonymy was not proposed because it was out of the scope of the paper). http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0063000

Ron Silver I surrender! :-D

Bülent Kılınç thanks a lot for the information you gave us Joao Pedro Silva and I will inform the local dive guides in Gökçeada Turkey.I was told that this critters have not been seen around there before and a kind of Spanish Dancer.

Bülent Kılınç I change the name of this critter as Gastropteron Rebrum

João Pedro Silva Glad to be of help, Bülent Kılınç!

João Pedro Silva Although this species is also present in the Atlantic, we haven't included it in our field guide. If you're comfortable reading french I recommend you a very comprehensive field guide for the Mediterranean with 171 species of sea slugs: "Des Limaces de Reve", by Sandrine Bielecki, Gilles Cavigneux, Jean Michel Crouzet and Sylvie Grall. http://www.deslimacesdereve.com/ Although it's only 3 years old there have already been some changes in the nomenclature so it may be worth to check with WoRMS for the current valid names.

Fabio Strazzi nice shot

Pat Gunderson ID please, is it Flabellina japonica, about 35cm Edmonds WA USA in the eelgrass near eggs typical of an Aeolid Never seen this one before.

Kimber Stonehouse Beautiful pic!

Pat Gunderson Thanks Kimber

Marli Wakeling I don't think so. I think it's Aeolidia papillosa.

Pat Gunderson Thanks Marli, it just looked like the cerata are too long compared to other Shag rug nudis I have seen.

Marli Wakeling Yes, it is a bit different. The lines on the cerata and lack of spots is unusual, but apparently they vary a lot.

João Pedro Silva Well.... now the problem is "which" Aeolidia papillosa. Take a look at the latest revision of the Aeolidiidae based on molecular evidence: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0063000

Marli Wakeling Given the article and the location of Pat's specimen in Washington State , it would appear to most likely be the "true" A. papillosa, unless one from California took a northern holiday.

Leila CB I think is one of the cryptic species of A. papillosa...

João Pedro Silva I'm waiting to see what will come out from this (there are other hints on the side lines of this revision like the status of Piseinotecus gaditanus and Flabellina confusa). It could be an atypical "true" A. papillosa or one of the "other" on the same area as the "true" A. papillosa. And even the presence or lack of white pigment on the front (that "typical" inverted Y on the "forehead") may be irrelevant to determine the species.

Pat Gunderson We saw at least 2 of these in the eel grass that had the same appearance.

Gary Cobb Are you sure of the size? 350mm

João Pedro Silva Must be 35mm, although it can grow more than than.

Pat Gunderson Typo 35 mm sorry

Pat Gunderson A little more than 1 inch

Gary Cobb I thought so....thanks!

David Serrano Chromodoris purpurea, Ensenada de Somió Gijón

Manuel Martínez Chacón Los géneros hypselodoris y chromodoris del Atlántico Oriental y Mediterráneo se han reinsertado a los géneros felimare y felimida según los últimos estudios moleculares de 2012. Esta especie se llamaría ahora Felimida purpurea.

David Serrano Ya vi los estudios, lo que pasa es que no logro acostumbrarme a los nombres nuevos

Manuel Martínez Chacón A mi me pasa lo mismo, y los nombres de los nuevos géneros me repatean... pero la ciencia es así de cabr...

João Pedro Silva E ainda vai haver mais mudanças nos próximos tempos :)

Manuel Martínez Chacón Eso, Joăo, tú da más animos, jejeje. De momento ya me se la historia de la F. babai.

João Pedro Silva E de Piseinotecus gaditanus = Flabellina confusa :) O problema é que ainda falta determinar se no final vai ficar Flabellina gaditana... :)

João Pedro Silva Piseinotecus gaditanus yesterday in Sesimbra. Now... what will happen with this species and Flabellina confusa? As the recent revision of Aeolidiidae where material of "both" species was used as control shown they're the same species? (see http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0063000)

John Sexton Really? As I look closely at the pictures of both I see for the most part a long tail on the Fl. Confusa and not on the Pi. gaditanus. Can that be right or am I missing something? Excuse my lack of knowledge here. I can't find the taxo info on either for some reason.

João Pedro Silva The question is they only differ internally... but molecular analysis shows they're the same species.

John Sexton So the internal differences are considered how?

João Pedro Silva You now understand the title of the above cited paper :) "A Tale That Morphology Fails to Tell"

Lucas CerCur John and Joao, we are deeping in this issue to give a strong reply to this. Be patience!

João Pedro Silva We'll stop drinking so much coffee and have chamomile instead :)

John Sexton Speak for yourself João Pedro! I will just switch to wine...

João Pedro Silva This made my day: Piseinotecus gaditanus spawning yesterday in Sesimbra, Portugal.

John Sexton sweet!

Gary Cobb Nice find Joao!

Δημήτρης Πουρσανίδης Nice and rare species !!

Bernard Picton Is that a Eudendrium species it is on? Seems to be a favourite food for Flabellinidae.

João Pedro Silva Seems to be Eudendrium. And it may well be Flabellinidae after all. Let's wait for news from Lucas :)

João Pedro Silva Piseinotecus gaditanus a fazer a postura Local: Sesimbra, Portugal Spot: Baleeira Profundidade: 10m Data: 29-10-2013

Floor Driessen We found a nudi we identified as C cavolini..

João Pedro Silva On the other hand, the white dots on the cerata are not typical of C. cavolini. Check Piseinotecus gaditanus.

João Pedro Silva ... or Flabellina confusa.

Ian Smith Jakov Prkic, Croatia, says this is certainly Calmella cavolini. Great creature!

O Gajo Dos Olivais I don't know much about these species but of what I have read, C cavolini distribution is Mediterranean Sea. P. gatidanus / F. confusa are Atlantic only. Please check: http://guia.opistobranquis.org/2009/12/piseinotecus-gaditanus.html