The length of the body of Tethys fimbria can reach up to 30 cm (12 in).[3]Tethys fimbria is translucent, but it has dark spots on its cerata.[3] It has a broad oral hood in the frontal part of its body.[3]Rhinophores are small.[3]Tethys fimbria has no radula as is the case in all members of the family Tethydidae.[3]
Ecology
The habitat of Tethys fimbria is seas which have sand or mud on the bottom, in depths from 20 to 150 m.[3]
Tethys fimbria captures and feeds on small crustaceans.[3] It uses its broad hood for catching them.[3]
The cerata can be self-amputated (autotomy) as a defence mechanism when the slug is in danger.[3]
Within the mantle large amounts of prostaglandins are produced.[4] Subsequently the prostoglandins are moved to the cerata.[4] The biosynthesis of prostgandins has been studied by Marzo et al. (1991).[4]
References
^ a bLinnaeus C. (1758). Systema Naturae, ed. 10, 653; 1767, ed. 12, page 1089.
^ a b"Tethys fimbria Linné 1767 ". CLEMAM, accessed 29 December 2010.
^ a b c d e f g h i j kRudman W. B. (14 October 2002) "Tethys fimbria Linnaeus, 1767 ". Sea Slug Forum, accessed 29 December 2010.
^ a b cDi Marzo, V.; Cimino, G.; Crispino, A.; Minardi, C.; Sodano, G.; Spinella, A. (1991). "A novel multifunctional metabolic pathway in a marine mollusc leads to unprecedented prostaglandin derivatives (prostaglandin 1,15-lactones)". The Biochemical Journal. 273 (Pt 3): 593–600. doi:10.1042/bj2730593. PMC 1149804. PMID 1899996.
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 B. 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)
(in German) Schmekel L. & Portmann A. (1982). Opisthobranchia des Mittelmeeres. Nudibranchia und Saccoglossa.Springer-Verlag, Berlin. 410 pp., 36 plates.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tethys fimbria.
"Tethys fimbria - Linnaeus, 1767". Marenostrum.org. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
"Tethys fimbria - DORIS". Doris.ffessm.fr. Retrieved 30 June 2018.