Felimare fontandraui (Pruvot-Fol, 1951)

Description

A medium-sized chromodorid 20–30 mm in length. The body is blue (sometimes with a purple tinge), and the rhinophores and gill plume are likewise blue. A fine yellow-to-cream line runs along the dorsal midline; in many individuals this line branches between the rhinophores, which is a key distinguishing feature from the closely similar Felimare tricolor. The mantle margin is bordered by an additional fine yellow line.

Distribution

Endemic to the western Mediterranean Sea and the adjacent eastern Atlantic.

Etymology

The specific epithet fontandraui is the genitive of the surname Font-Andreu, honouring a person to whom the original describer dedicated the species.

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References

• Glossodoris fontandraui n. sp., Pruvot-Fol A. (1951). Études des nudibranches de la Méditerranée, 2. Archives de Zoologie Expérimentale et Générale. 88: 1-80.
• Hypselodoris fontandraui (Pruvot-Fol, 1951), Gosliner T.M. & Johnson R.F. (1999). Phylogeny of Hypselodoris (Nudibranchia: Chromodorididae) with a review of the monophyletic clade of Indo-Pacific species, including descriptions of twelve new species. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 125: 1-114. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1096-3642.1999.tb00585.x
• Felimare fontandraui, Johnson R.F. & Gosliner T.M. (2012). Traditional taxonomic groupings mask evolutionary history: a molecular phylogeny and new classification of the chromodorid nudibranchs. PLoS ONE 7(4): e33479.