Ancula gibbosa, common name Atlantic ancula, is a species of dorid nudibranch. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Goniodorididae.
| Atlantic ancula | |
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| Chromolithograph of Ancula gibbosa from Kunstformen der Natur (1904) | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Order: | Nudibranchia |
| Superfamily: | Onchidoridoidea |
| Family: | Goniodorididae |
| Genus: | Ancula |
| Species: | A. gibbosa
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| Binomial name | |
| Ancula gibbosa | |
| Synonyms[3] | |
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Distribution
editThis 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.[4]
Description
editThis goniodorid nudibranch has a translucent white body with yellow or white tipped processes.[5]
Ecology
editAncula 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.[5]
References
edit
- ^ (in French) Risso A. (1818). "Memoire sur quelques Gasteropodes nouveaux, Nudibranches et Tectibranches observes dans la Mer de Nice". Journal de Physique, de Chimie, d'Histoire Naturelle et des Arts 87: 368-377. Tritonia gibbosa is on the page 371.
- ^ Alder J. (1841). "Observations on the genus Polycera of Cuvier, with descriptions of two new British species". Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 6 (38): 337–342. doi:10.1080/03745484109442937.
- ^ "Ancula gibbosa (Risso, 1818)". Malacolog Version 4.1.1. A Database of Western Atlantic Marine Mollusca. Accessed 17 February 2010.
- ^ Rudman, W.B., 2000 (March 24) Ancula gibbosa (Risso, 1818). [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.
- ^ a b Picton, B.E. & Morrow, C.C., 2010. Ancula gibbosa [In] Encyclopedia of Marine Life of Britain and Ireland.