Kingdom Animalia Superfamily Fionoidea Phylum Mollusca Rank Species | Class Gastropoda Family Fionidae Genus Tenellia | |
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Similar Nudibranch, Gastropods, Tenellia foliata, Flabellina gracilis, Molluscs | ||
Tenellia gymnota is a species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Fionidae. Eolis aurantia, a subjective synonym of this species, is the type species of the genus Catriona Winckworth, 1941.
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Distribution
This species was described from Massachusetts Bay, on the Atlantic Ocean coast of the USA. It is reported from the NW Atlantic from Canada to New Jersey. In the NE Atlantic it is reported from Norway south to Portugal and the Mediterranean Sea. DNA evidence suggests that the NE Atlantic specimens belong to a separate species to the NW Atlantic specimens and should therefore be called Tenellia aurantia.
Description
This species has a translucent white body and slightly swollen cerata. The digestive gland is orange pink in colour and the tips of the cerata have a broad white band of tiny epidermal glands. In larger specimens the rhinophores develop a pale orange suffusion. The foot is broad and rounded anteriorly. Large individuals may exceed 20 mm in length.
Habitat
Feeds on the hydroid Tubularia larynx. Individuals are thought to feed by eating through the stems of the hydroid rather than on the polyps. Usually found in exposed places, in strong tidal streams, and in shallow water, from 0 m to 20 m depth. The spawn consists of lozenge-shaped packets of eggs.