Tethys fimbria is a species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 of predatory sea slug

Slug

Slug is a common name that is normally applied to any gastropod mollusc that lacks a shell, has a very reduced shell, or has a small internal shell...

, a nudibranch

Nudibranch

A nudibranch is a member of what is now a taxonomic clade, and what was previously a suborder, of soft-bodied, marine gastropod mollusks which shed their shell after their larval stage. They are noted for their often extraordinary colors and striking forms...

, a marine

Marine (ocean)

Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology...

 gastropod mollusk in the family Tethydidae

Tethydidae

Tethydidae is a family of sea slugs, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Tritonioidea.- Taxonomy :This family is within the clade Cladobranchia and has no subfamilies ....

.

Tethys fimbria is the only species in the genus Tethys.

ICZN

International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature

The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature is an organization dedicated to "achieving stability and sense in the scientific naming of animals". Founded in 1895, it currently comprises 28 members from 20 countries, mainly practicing zoological taxonomists...

 opinion 200 ruled Tethys fimbria as a valid name and Tethys leporina Linnaeus, 1758 as a synonym.

Distribution

The distribution of Tethys fimbria includes the Mediterranean Sea

Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...

 and the east coast of the Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

 from Portugal in the north, to the Gulf of Guinea

Gulf of Guinea

The Gulf of Guinea is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean between Cape Lopez in Gabon, north and west to Cape Palmas in Liberia. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian is in the gulf....

 in the south.

Description

The length of the body of Tethys fimbria can reach up to 30 cm (12 in). Tethys fimbria is translucent, but it has dark spots on its cerata

Cerata

Cerata are anatomical structures found in nudibranch sea slugs, marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusks.They are dorsal and lateral outgrowths on the upper surfaces of the body....

. It has a broad oral hood in the frontal part of its body. Rhinophores are small. Tethys fimbria has no radula

Radula

The radula is an anatomical structure that is used by molluscs for feeding, sometimes compared rather inaccurately to a tongue. It is a minutely toothed, chitinous ribbon, which is typically used for scraping or cutting food before the food enters the esophagus...

 as is the case in all members of the family Tethydidae.

Ecology

The habitat of Tethys fimbria is seas which have sand or mud on the bottom, in depths from 20 to 150 m.

Tethys fimbria captures and feeds on small crustaceans. It uses its broad hood for catching them.

The cerata can be self-amputated (autotomy

Autotomy

Autotomy or self amputation is the act whereby an animal severs one or more of its own appendages, usually as a self-defense mechanism designed to elude a predator's grasp...

) as a defence mechanism when the slug is in danger.

Within the mantle

Mantle (mollusc)

The mantle is a significant part of the anatomy of molluscs: it is the dorsal body wall which covers the visceral mass and usually protrudes in the form of flaps well beyond the visceral mass itself.In many, but by no means all, species of molluscs, the epidermis of the mantle secretes...

 large amounts of prostaglandin

Prostaglandin

A prostaglandin is any member of a group of lipid compounds that are derived enzymatically from fatty acids and have important functions in the animal body. Every prostaglandin contains 20 carbon atoms, including a 5-carbon ring....

s are produced. Subsequently the prostoglandins are moved to the cerata. The biosynthesis

Biosynthesis

Biosynthesis is an enzyme-catalyzed process in cells of living organisms by which substrates are converted to more complex products. The biosynthesis process often consists of several enzymatic steps in which the product of one step is used as substrate in the following step...

 of prostgandins has been studied by Marzo et al. (1991).

Further reading

• Cattaneo-Vietti R., Chemello R., Giannuzzi-Savelli R. (1990). Atlas of Mediterranean Nudibranchs. La Conchiglia, Rome. 264 pp.
• Cimino G., Crispino A., Di Marzo V., Spinella A. & Sodano G. (1992). "Prostaglandin F-1,15-lactone fatty acyl esters: a prostaglandin lactone pathway branch developed during the reproduction and early larval stages of a marine mollusc". Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part B: Comparative Biochemistry 101(1-2): 99-104. doi:10.1016/0305-0491(92)90164-M.
• Odhner N. H. (1936). "Nudibranchia Dendronotacea - A revision of the system". Memoires du Musee Royal d'Histoire Naturelle de Belgique, series 2, fasc. 3: 1057-1128. (Pl. 1) Schmekel L. & Portmann A. (1982). Opisthobranchia des Mittelmeeres. Nudibranchia und Saccoglossa. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. 410 pp., 36 plates.

External links

• http://marenostrum.org/vidamarina/animalia/invertebrados/moluscos/gasteropodos/opistobranquios/tfimbria/index.htm http://doris.ffessm.fr/fiche2.asp?fiche_numero=686