Berthellina ilisima
(Marcus & Marcus, 1967)

Order: NOTASPIDEA
Superfamily: PLEUROBRANCHOIDEA
Family: Pleurobranchidae

DISTRIBUTION

Tropical east Pacific

PHOTO

Shallow subtidal off Isla Luz, Bahia de Concepcion, Baja California, Mexico, February 1992. Photo: Jeff Goddard

Marcus & Marcus (1967) proposed a subspecies Berthellina engeli ilisima for an orange Berthellina from the Gulf of California. They considered the shape and shell sculpture to differ from that of typical specimens from the east Atlantic. I don't think anything has recently been published on this genus but I may be mistaken. See Lucas Cervera's message suggesting that Berthellina quadridens is the correct name for Caribbean specimens, and second message suggesting that east Pacific animals were B. ilisima

References:
• Gosliner, T.M. & Bertsch, H. (1988). A review of the genus Berthella (Opisthobranchia: Notaspidea) from the Pacific Coast of North America. The Veliger, 31: 46-67.
• Marcus, Er. & Marcus, Ev (1967) American opisthobranch mollusks. Part 2, Opisthobranchs from the Gulf of California. Studies Tropical Oceanography, Miami 6(1-2): 141-256. (Figs 1-95)

Authorship details
Rudman, W.B., 2002 (September 26) Berthellina ilisima (Marcus & Marcus, 1967). [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/bertilis

Related messages


Re: Berthellina in eastern Pacific

September 28, 2002
From: Juan Lucas Cervera

Dear Bill,
Concerning your question - according to our researches (Terry Gosliner and I), the species of Berthellina from the eastern Pacific should be called Berthellina ilisima, early erected by Marcus and Marcus (1967) as B. engeli ilisima from Gulf of California. There are differences in the shape and location of the shell, radula and details of the reproductive system between B. quadridens from Caribbean Sea and B. ilisima from the eastern Pacific.
Cheers.
Lucas.

lucas.cervera@uca.es

Cervera, J.L., 2002 (Sep 28) Re: Berthellina in eastern Pacific. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/8048

Thanks Lucas,
I have been waiting for an opinion on B. ilisima since Peter Ajtai's message from Costa Rica.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

'Berthella ilisima' and shell from Costa Rica

May 30, 2002
From: Peter Ajtai

Dear Bill,
I found this Berthella ilisima off of the Peninsula Santa Elena in northwestern Costa Rica. It was under a scallop shell at 90ft. I've also included photos of the top and bottom views of the sea slug's internal shell. The way I understand it, a lot of the Berthella and Berthellina have to be identified using the internal shell. Is there any other way to identify these guys, and do you know of any references that have either photos or drawings of the shells?

thank you and cheers,
Peter Ajtai.

ajtai@slugophile.org

Ajtai, P., 2002 (May 30) 'Berthella ilisima' and shell from Costa Rica. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/7051

Note: See Lucas Cervera's message suggesting that Berthellina quadridens is the correct name for Caribbean specimens, and second message suggesting that east Pacific animals were B. ilisima

Thanks Peter,
If this is 'ilisima' then it may be a species of Berthellina rather than Berthella. Marcus & Marcus (1967) proposed a subspecies Berthellina engeli ilisima for an orange Berthellina from the Gulf of California. They considered the shape and shell sculpture to differ from that of typical specimens from the east Atlantic. I don't think anything has recently been published on this genus but I may be mistaken. I do know that Lucas Cervera and others have been revising the genus. Hopefully someone will let us know what the current status of this name is.

A couple of useful references would be
• Gosliner, T.M. & Bertsch, H. (1988). A review of the genus Berthella (Opisthobranchia: Notaspidea) from the Pacific Coast of North America. The Veliger, 31: 46-67.
• Marcus, Er. & Marcus, Ev (1967) American opisthobranch mollusks. Part 2, Opisthobranchs from the Gulf of California. Studies Tropical Oceanography, Miami 6(1-2): 141-256. (Figs 1-95)

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2002 (May 30). Comment on 'Berthella ilisima' and shell from Costa Rica by Peter Ajtai. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/7051

Berthellina engeli from the Sea of Cortez

December 29, 2000
From: Jeff Goddard

Hi Bill,

In response to Jennifer's message about its diet, here is a photo of Berthellina engeli for the Forum. I found this specimen in the shallow subtidal off Isla Luz, Bahia de Concepcion, Baja California, Mexico in February 1992. I have not investigated the diet of this species, and have found it difficult to determine the diet of its relative, Berthella californica.

Best wishes,
Jeff Goddard

goddard@lifesci.ucsb.edu

Goddard, J., 2000 (Dec 29) Berthellina engeli from the Sea of Cortez. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/3273

Note: See Lucas Cervera's message suggesting that Berthellina quadridens is the correct name for Caribbean specimens, and second message suggesting that east Pacific animals were B. ilisima

Thanks Jeff,
Sorry its taken a while to post this - I hate to think how many messages would have been waiting for me if I had not warned people I was going to be away for a month!
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman