Gigantonotum album
Lin Guangyu & Tchang Si, 1965

Order: NOTASPIDEA
Superfamily: PLEUROBRANCHOIDEA
Family: Pleurobranchidae

DISTRIBUTION

Known only from deep water in the South China Sea

PHOTO

Locality: near Atoll Da Lat , depth from 329 to 428 m, Vietnam, Pacific Ocean, South China Sea, 31 May 2007, dredged. Length: 8 cm. Photographer: A. V. Chernyshev.

Gigantonotum album Lin Guangyu & Tchang Si, 1965 was named from a specimen collected south of Hainan Island in 220 m. It is characterised by the broad mantle which covers the foot and the gill. I assume the name album is based on the whitish colour of the holotype, but since it was in preservative when described, its colour would better be described as translucent with brown mottling, as in the Alexei Chernyshev's photograph. Willan (1977) synonymised Gigantonotum with Pleurobranchella, a genus erected by Thiele (1925) for a species from the Nicobar Islands, P. nicobarica. However Marcus & Gosliner (1984) report that Pleurobranchella nicobarica lacks a central radular tooth while G. album has one. The anatomy of Gigantonotum needs to be re-examined before the suggested synonymy can be confirmed [see message #20358 ].

• Guangyu, L. & Tchang Si. (1965) Etude sur les mollusques Pleurobranchidae de la cote de Chine. Oceanologia et Limnologia Sinica, 7(3): 265-277
• Marcus, E. and Gosliner, T. M. (1984) Review of the family Pleurobranchaeidae (Mollusca, Opisthobranchia). Annals of the South African Museum  93: 1-52,Figs1-25.
• Thiele, J. (1925) Gastropoda der Deutschen Tiefsee Expedition. II Teil. Wissenschaftliche ergebnisse der Deutschen Tiefsee-expedition auf dem Dampfer “Valdivia” 1898-1899, 17(2): 38-382, pls. 13-46.
• Willan, R. C. (1987) Phylogenetic systematics of the Notaspidea (Opisthobranchia) with reappraisal of families and genera. American Malacological Union Bulletin, 5: 215-241.

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