title: Coloration and defense in the nudibranch gastropod Hypselodoris fontandraui.
abstract: The striking color patterns of chromodorid (and other) nudibranchs appear to be indicative of aposematism. In Müllerian mimicry, all the mimic species have a defense mechanism. It has been proposed that a group of blue, white, and yellow Mediterranean and northeastern Atlantic species of the genus Hypselodoris form a Müllerian mimetic circle. One of these, H. fontandraui, lacks the mantle dermal formations (repugnatorial glands) that are typically found in other members of this circle and are reservoirs of feeding deterrent compounds. It therefore seemed possible that this animal lacks chemical defense and acts like a Batesian mimic. Within this study, we found that this nudibranch contains the furanosesquiterpenoid tavacpallescensin, most probably derived from sponges of the genus Dysidea, upon which it probably feeds. The metabolite concentrations were measured from samples of the mantle rim, other external parts, and internal organs. Concentrations were about 4 times higher in the mantle rim than in the other external parts, and more than 20 times higher in the mantle rim than in the internal organs, considerably exceeding the threshold value of concentration showing the maximum dose effect as feeding deterrent against the crustacean Palaemon elegans. In conclusion, the reported data clearly demonstrate that H. fontandraui is chemically defended in much the same way as its aposematic, co-occurring, and blue-colored congeners within the Müllerian mimetic circle and is not a Batesian mimic.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Chimica Biomolecolare, CNR, Via Campi Flegrei 34, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Haber
authors.forename: Sonia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cerfeda
authors.forename: Marianna
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Carbone
authors.forename: Gonçalo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Calado
authors.forename: Helena
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gaspar
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Neves
authors.forename: Veeramani
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Maharajan
authors.forename: Guido
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cimino
authors.forename: Margherita
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gavagnin
authors.forename: Michael T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Ghiselin
authors.forename: Ernesto
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mollo
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000818:Animals; D001519:Behavior; D003116:Color; D049851:Gastropoda / Q000502:physiology*; D010858:Pigmentation