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First record of Haminoea cyanomarginata (Gastropoda: Haminoeidae)

in the Italian Seas
Fabio Crocetta*‡ and Angelo Vazzana†
*Via D. Fontana, 81–80128 Napoli, †Museo di Biologia Marina e Paleontologia di Reggio Calabria, Via Stradella Giuffrè I, n. 32–89122 Reggio
Calabria, Italy. ‡Corresponding author, e-mail: fabiocrocetta@alice.it

The opening of the sea level Suez Canal in 1869 and the increase in commercial shipping routes
have led to the colonization of the Mediterranean Sea by Indo-Pacific species. These establish
populations first along the Levantine coasts and then spread into the central Mediterranean, at
least in part by shipping transport of larvae, juveniles or adult specimens. One of these species is
Haminoea cyanomarginata, a cephalaspidean belonging to the Haminoeidae until now never reported
from Italian Seas. In addition, egg-masses of this species have been recorded for the first time in the
Mediterraean Sea.

Haminoea cyanomarginata Heller & Thompson, 1983, is a cephalaspidean mollusc belonging to the
family Haminoeidae described from a single live specimen of 5.5 mm long and 2.5 mm wide found
at Harvey Reef (Sudanese Red Sea coast, between Port Sudan and Suakin) amongst coral rubble on
7 April 1980 (Heller & Thompson, 1983).
It is a somewhat elongated animal characterized by a cephalic shield deeply bifurcate posteriorly
and divided into a pair of well-developed flaps. Its parapodial lobes are short and fold up over the
anterior half of the shell, but do not meet dorsally, while the posterior pallial lobe encloses the
posterior end of the shell. The background colour of the soft parts is greenish white with many
patches of cream-white and with some yellow blotches sprinkled over it.The margins of the mantle
are a very conspicuous purple-blue, contrasting very strongly with the pale ground colour of the
animal; the fringes of the parapodia, of the posterior pallial lobe and of the part of the pallial lobe
enclosing the shell are all of this colour.The purple-blue line breaks up into a series of bluish spots in
the anterior margin of the head and a large bluish spot separating the two eyes. Some dark purplish
blue spots are also visible beneath the shell (Figure 1a). See also Heller & Thompson (1983) and
Zenetos et al. (2004) for a full description.

Figure 1. Haminoea cyanomarginata from Saline Joniche (RC). (A) A single specimen of 18 mm; (B) its shell (8.0×5.9 mm);
(C) a couple showing trailing behaviour; (D) egg-masses.
 F. Crocetta and A.Vazzana First record of Haminoea cyanomarginata in the Italian Seas

The animal is commonly from 5 to 15 mm in size and the shell

can be up to 10 mm (Zenetos et al., 2004). The shell is whitish
or creamy-white coloured, bubble-shaped, fragile, translucent,
smooth and with no traces of ornamentation (Figure 1b).
It can be easily distinguished from the other Mediterranean
congeners by its mantle bordered with purple or dark blue and
the scattered vivid-yellow blotches all over (Heller & Thompson,
1983; Zenetos et al., 2004; Mifsud, 2007).
Haminoea cyanomarginata is considered one of the recent
lessepsian immigrants entering into the Mediterranean Sea
through the Suez Canal (Zenetos et al., 2004; Zenetos et al.,
2005b; Mifsud, 2007). Although its distribution has not been
published extensively in the literature (Zenetos et al., 2004), we
know that about 30 live specimens were first recorded from
the Mediterranean at Porto Germeno (Korinthiakos, Greece)
in 2001 (Rudman, 2003; Zenetos et al., 2005a) and one year
later, in 2002, several other specimens were recorded from
Çeþme (Ýzmir, Turkey) (Rudman, 2003). All the specimens were
usually seen at night, between 15–30 m deep on rocky surfaces
covered with algae (Rudman, 2003; Zenetos et al., 2004). At the
moment this species seems to be quite common in many areas Figure 2. The Ionian Sea with the location (•) where Haminoea cyanomarginata
was found.
of Greece and Turkey (Zenetos et al., 2004).
Only in 2006 this species was recorded from Mgarr (Malta),
where Mifsud (2007) found, in a stretch of coastline of about
5 km, 21 live specimens in weeds and algae brought up in
fishermen’s tackle from around meadows of Posidonia oceanica
at a depth of between 20 and 50 m.
On 16 September 2007, while SCUBA diving at Saline Joniche (Reggio Calabria, Italy), 37º55'34"N
15º44'26"E (Figure 2), a couple of H. cyanomarginata showing trailing behaviour (Figure 1c) were
found in daytime at a depth of about 6 m on some calcareous boulders (coming from the harbour
just opposite after a severe sea-storm), covered by a thin algal film and colonized by Cystoseira
sp., other algae and rare sessile organisms such as sponges, vermetids and molluscs (Spondylus
gaederopus, Ostrea edulis and Chama gryphoides).
After a few days (on 23 September, with a water temperature about 21°C on the bed), in the same
place, about 70 specimens (both adults and juveniles from 6 to 20 mm in length) and several egg-
masses (principally on Cystoseira sp.) of translucent colour and whitish capsules of H. cyanomarginata
were found (Figure 1d), suggesting that the species seems to be well adapted to this habitat, being
one of the most abundant invertebrates. Trailing behaviour, until now known only for some species
of Chromodorididae, was observed both in ambient and in aquarium, as also reported by M.B.Yokes
in Rudman (2003).
Specimens were observed both in ambient and in aquarium feeding on filamentous algae and
probably on diatoms, supporting what was presumed by Zenetos et al. (2004) and observed for
other Haminoea spp. (Malaquias et al., 2004).
Although we are not sure about how H. cyanomarginata arrived on the Italian coasts, we suppose
that this latest Mediterranean record could be attributable to natural dispersal, since Saline Joniche
is far from any commercial route and major port.

CONCLUSIONS
Our record, the first for Ionian and all Italian Seas, is the furthest the north-west Mediterranean
station known for Haminoea cyanomarginata, and considerably extends its present distribution.
It can be also seen in the light of the established trend of warm/temperate marine fishes and
invertebrates, expanding their geographic range from the eastern/southern to the western and
northern Mediterranean, possibly related to a general change in climate (Vacchi et al., 1999; Bianchi
& Morri, 2000). This new finding of specimens and egg-masses, together with the previous records,
supported the hypothesis that H. cyanomarginata is not an occasional species in the Mediterranean
as asserted also by Zenetos et al. (2005b), and that some real populations have now permanently
settled in the eastern and middle Mediterranean.

REFERENCES
Bianchi, C.N. & Morri, C., 2000. Marine biodiversity of the Mediterranean Sea: situation, problems and prospects
for future research. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 40, 367–376.

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 First record of Haminoea cyanomarginata in the Italian Seas F. Crocetta and A.Vazzana 

Heller, J. & Thompson, T.E., 1983. Opisthobranch molluscs of the Sudanese Red Sea. Zoological Journal of the
Linnean Society, 78, 317–348.
Malaquias, M.A.E., Condinho, S., Cervera, J.L. & Sprung, M., 2004. Diet and feeding biology of Haminoea orbygniana
(Mollusca: Gastropoda: Cephalaspidea). Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 84,
767–772.
Mifsud, C., 2007. Haminoea cyanomarginata Heller & Thompson, 1983 (Gastropoda: Haminoeidae), a new
invader for the Maltese Islands. Novapex, 8, 29–30.
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www.seaslugforum.net/hamicyan.htm. Sidney: Australian Museum.
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Zenetos, A., Çinar, M.E., Pancucci-Papadopoulou, M.A., Harmelin, J.G., Furnari, G., Andaloro, F., Bellou, N.,
Streftaris, N. & Zibrowius, H., 2005. Annotated list of marine alien species in the Mediterranean with records
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Submitted 22 October 2007. Accepted 29 January 2008.

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