Synonyms: Flabellina pedata
Currently accepted name: Edmunsella pedata (Montagu, 1815)
Body (excluding appendages)
Up to 48mm long. Purple [4] or amethyst/violet [1], slightly translucent. Sexually mature and pale blobs of ovotestis visible [4] at 16mm length. No surface markings.
Cerata
May conceal parts of body, but mostly exposed. Arranged in groups on each side of the body. Translucent purple or amethyst revealing carmine digestive gland [3]. Distal band of white surface pigment.
Rhinophores
Wrinkled. Purple or amethyst with white surface pigment distally [3].
Head
Purple or amethyst oral tentacles with white surface pigment distally [1].
Foot
Sickle blade shaped grey propodial tentacles [5].Sole translucent white medially, with wide peripheries tinted purple or amethyst. Anterior tinted grey.
Similar species
No other British species of aeolid has a violet or purple body.
Ecology and behaviour
LWS rocky shores and offshore. On or near its prey; Eudendrium (sp. uncertain) (EML) and possibly some other hydroids. Hermaphrodite. Thin white spiral of spawn among Eudendrium. Veliger larvae drift as plankton for about two weeks before settling on the sea floor and transforming into the adult form. Breeds May to September.
Distribution and status
Norway to northern Adriatic. (GBIF map). Because it is easy to identify, there are many records all round Ireland and Britain on hard substrate sea beds and occasionally on rocky shores where a strong current favours the food organisms. (UK interactive distribution map NBN.)
References and links
Alder, J. & Hancock, A. 1845-1855. A monograph of the British nudibranchiate mollusca. London, Ray Society.
Thompson, T.E. & Brown, G.H. 1984. Biology of opisthobranch molluscs 2. London, Ray Society.
Current taxonomy: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS)
Irish distribution maps and prey organisms:
Picton, B.E. & Morrow, C.C., 2010. Encyclopedia of Marine Life of Britain and Ireland (EML)