Relevant Synonyms Catriona perca Marcus, 1958 Misidentification -  drawing: Tuvia Kurz

SHORT DESCRIPTION Small eolid, with rounded head and smooth, finger-shaped rhinophores. Cephalic tentacles shorter than rhinophores, and anterior margin of the foot simply rounded. Cerata elongated, arranged in 6-10 transverse rows dorso-larerally. color : general ground color translucent greyish-white to cream with olive green digestive system. Dorsum and cerata with numerous minute opaque white flecks. Head with a dark area anterior to the rhinophores. Cores of cerata olivaceus green to brown with a subapical white band. common size : animal 5 to 15 mm in length; Mediterranean specimen: 6 mm. DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS The olivaceus to dark brown color in the cerata and the dark coloration on the head anterior to the rhinophores are distinctive. BIOLOGY / ECOLOGY Gosliner (1980b) and McDonald (1983, as Cuthona sp.) found this species on floating docks, associated with the sea anemones Aiptasia sp., in Hawaiian Islands, and Haliplanella luciae in Californian waters. habitat : found in intertidal lagoons or in harbour areas, sometimes in fouling communities.

1st Mediterranean record Adriatic Sea, Italy, 1995 [1976-77]. DISTRIBUTION Worldwide: it is a widespread species in the Caribbean area, from Florida to Brazil, known also from Hawaiian Islands, California, New Zealand and Ghana, West Africa. Mediterranean: recorded only in the Gulf of Venice in 1976-77 (Perrone, 1995). ESTABLISHMENT SUCCESS Only one specimen found in the Mediterranean. speculated reasons for success : - MODE OF INTRODUCTION Probably transported on ships hulls from the Caribbean area. IMPORTANCE TO HUMANS None.

KEY REFERENCES Behrens D.V., 1984. Notes on the Tergipedid Nudibranchs of the Northeastern Pacific, with a description of a new species. The Veliger, 27(1): 65-71. Edmunds M., 1977. Larval development, oceanic current, and origins of the opisthobranch fauna of Ghana. Journal of Molluscan Studies, 43: 301-308. Gosliner T.M., 1980b. The systematic of the Aeolidacea (Nudibranchia: Mollusca) of the Hawaiian Islands, with descriptions of two new species. Pacific Science, 33(1): 37-77.   McDonald G.C., 1983. A review of the nudibranchs of the California coast. Malacologia, 24(1-2): 114-276. Perrone A.S., 1995. Una specie di Nudibranchi del genere Cuthona Alder & Hancock, 1855, nuova per il Mediterraneo: Cuthona perca Marcus, 1958 (Opisthobranchia: Nudibranchia). Bolletino Malacologico, 31(1-4): 28-36. FEEDBACK / COMMENTS TO AUTHORS

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