Kingdom Animalia Class Gastropoda Family Goniodorididae Scientific name Ancula gibbosa | Phylum Mollusca Superfamily Onchidoridoidea Genus Ancula Rank Species | |
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Similar Ancula, Onchidoris, Onchidoris muricata, Cadlina laevis, Polycera quadrilineata | ||
Ancula gibbosa
Ancula gibbosa, common name Atlantic ancula, is a species of dorid nudibranch. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Goniodorididae.
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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.
Description
This goniodorid nudibranch has a translucent white body with yellow or white tipped processes.
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.