Striped squirrel snail

Striped squirrel snail
	Striped squirrel snail ( Polycera quadrilineata )
Systematics
Superordinate :	Heterobranchia
Order :	Hind gill snails (Opisthobranchia)
Subordination :	Nudibranchia (Nudibranchia)
Family :	Squirrel snails (Polyceridae)
Genre :	Polycera
Type :	Striped squirrel snail
Scientific name
	Polycera quadrilineata
	( OV Müller , 1776)

The striped squirrel snail ( Polycera quadrilineata ) is a snail from the suborder of the nudibranch , which is common in the northeastern Atlantic.

features

The striped squirrel snail becomes two centimeters long. It has a very eye-catching color: on the back ( notum ) of its white, translucent body, usually several continuous black lines run lengthways - often more than the four mentioned by Müller - as well as bright yellow, raised lines or spots. It has two club-shaped, lamellar head antennae ( rhinophores ) and a gill ring with a similar color on the back . The mostly four, sometimes six, translucent white tentacle-like projections of the forehead sail, which also have bright yellow tips, distinguish it from the closely related Faroese squirrel snail , which usually has eight such projections and no raised yellow spots.

Occurrence and distribution

The striped squirrel snail lives in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic as well as in the English Channel , the North Sea and the western Baltic Sea .

Diet and Lifestyle

The snail grazes off crust-forming bog animals , whereby in particular Membranipora membranacea and Electra pilosa are eaten. It produces acidic secretions in its skin to ward off enemies.

literature

Otho Fridericus Müller : Zoologiae Danicae. Prodromus seu animalium Daniae et Norvegiae ingenarum characteres, nomina, et synonyma imprimis popularium . Typis Hallageriis, Havniae 1776, p. 229 , No. 2768. DORIS, fusca, ovalis, lamella scabra, punctata , No. 2771. Doris quadrilineata, oblonga, alba, lineis quatuor [sic] nigris, auriculis sulphureis .
Thomas Everett Thompson : Molluscs - Benthic Opisthobranchs . Linnean Society of London, London 1988, p. 68. 46. Polycera quadrilineata (Müller 1776) . ISBN 90 04 08439 8

Web links

Commons : Striped Squirrel - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Peter Jonas: Striped squirrel snail, Polycera quadrilineata (Müller 1776) (unterwasser-welt-ostsee.de, accessed on July 23, 2016)
P. Bouchet, S. Gofas (2010): Polycera quadrilineata (OF Müller, 1776) . MolluscaBase (2016), WoRMS .
BE Picton, CC Morrow (2010): Polycera quadrilineata . Encyclopedia of Marine Life of Britain and Ireland.