Relevant Synonyms Aeolidiella takanosimensis Baba, 1930 [Schmekel, 1968] Aeolidiella orientalis takanosimensis Bergh, 1888 [Schmekel and Portmann, 1982] Misidentification -  drawing: Tuvia Kurz

SHORT DESCRIPTION Body elongated and fairly high. Cerata arranged in six or seven distinct clusters with a few single cerata at the posterior end. Rhinophores smooth, finger-shaped. The conical oral tentacles are as long as the rhinophores or slightly longer. Foot transversely grooved anteriorly and rounded, with stout, slightly produced corners. color : body translucent white with more or less rhomboidal opaque white areas in the median dorsal line, outlined with orange pigment, which extends from the oral tentacles and rhinophores to the posterior end of the animal. Oral tentacles and rhinophores opaque white above, and orange below. Cerata with a subapical white band below the orange tip, each marked internally with a light brown diverticulum of the digestive gland. common size : it can reach up to 40 mm in length. The Mediterranean specimens measured from 3 to 14 mm. DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS The orange pattern on the notum, the smooth rhinophores and the short foot corners are characteristics of the species. BIOLOGY / ECOLOGY Found in South Africa associated with the sea anemone Anthothoe stimpsonii, upon which it feeds voraciously (Gosliner and Griffiths, 1981); produces spirally coiled egg masses. In the Mediterranean Schmekel and Portmann (1982) noted that this species feeds on sea anemones of the genus Sagartia. habitat : in the Mediterranean, found under rocks and in rocky walls between 1 and 12 m.

1st Mediterranean record Italy, 1968. DISTRIBUTION Worldwide: widely distributed all around temperate Indian and Pacific Oceans; also known from the Red Sea (Eliot, 1908), and the Canary Islands, Eastern Atlantic (Pérez and Ortea, 1981). Mediterranean: recorded first in 1968 from Capo Miseno, Naples, Italy as Aeolidiella takanosimensis (Schmekel, 1968), and later in Malta (Sammut and Perrone, 1998). ESTABLISHMENT SUCCESS Only some isolated specimens have been found in the central Mediterranean. speculated reasons for success : - MODE OF INTRODUCTION Probably transported on ship hulls from the Indian Ocean. According to Willan & Coleman (1984), the widespread distribution of this species is likely due to shipping. IMPORTANCE TO HUMANS None.

KEY REFERENCES Gosliner T.M. and Griffiths R.J., 1981. Description and revision of some South African aeolidacean Nudibranchia (Mollusca, Gastropoda). Annals of the South African Museum, 84(2): 105-150. Sammut C. and Perrone A.S., 1998. A preliminary check-list of Opisthobranchia (Mollusca, Gastropoda) from the Maltese Islands. Basteria, 62: 221-240. Schmekel L., 1968. Ascoglossa, Notaspidea und Nudibranchia im Litoral des Golfes von Neapel. Revue Suisse de Zoologie, 75: 103-155.   Schmekel L. and Portmann A., 1982. Opisthobranchia des Mittelmeeres. Springer, Berlin, 410 p. FEEDBACK / COMMENTS TO AUTHORS

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