WoRMS taxon details

Glaucus atlanticus Forster, 1777

Glaucus atlanticus
Glaucus atlanticus

140022  (urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:140022)

  1. Biota
  2. Animalia (Kingdom)
  3. Mollusca (Phylum)
  4. Gastropoda (Class)
  5. Heterobranchia (Subclass)
  6. Euthyneura (Infraclass)
  7. Ringipleura (Subterclass)
  8. Nudipleura (Superorder)
  9. Nudibranchia (Order)
  10. Aeolidina (Suborder)
  11. Aeolidioidea (Superfamily)
  12. Glaucidae (Family)
  13. Glaucus (Genus)
  14. Glaucus atlanticus (Species)
accepted
Species
Doris radiata Gmelin, 1791 · unaccepted (synonym)
Glaucus flagellum Blumenbach, 1803 · unaccepted > junior subjective synonym
Glaucus hexapterigius Cuvier, 1805 · unaccepted (synonym)
Glaucus lineatus Reinhardt & Bergh, 1861 · unaccepted > nomen nudum
Glaucus radiatus (Gmelin, 1791) · unaccepted > junior subjective synonym
marine, brackish, fresh, terrestrial
Forster G. 1777. A voyage round the world in His Britannic Majesty's Sloop, Resolution, commanded by Capt. James Cook, during the years 1772, 3, 4 and 5. London, B. White, J. Robson, P. Elmsly and and G. Robinson. Vol. 1, pp. i-xviii, 1-602; vol. 2, pp. 1-607. , available online at http://www.dlib.si/details/URN:NBN:SI:doc-IFSE4BLP
page(s): vol. 1 p. 49 [details] 
Description A distinctive, truly pelagic silvery blue mollusc, up to 6 cm long, with three pairs of arms. Floats upside-down just under...  
Description A distinctive, truly pelagic silvery blue mollusc, up to 6 cm long, with three pairs of arms. Floats upside-down just under the sea surface, feeding on the colonial hydroids Physalia, Porpita and Velella. Habitat: offshore. Distribution: pantropical. N.B. must be handled with care as it can give an extremely painful sting, due to the nematocysts taken from the prey species Physalia, which itself gives a nasty sting. [details]
MolluscaBase eds. (2025). MolluscaBase. Glaucus atlanticus Forster, 1777. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=140022 on 2025-12-02
Date
action
by
2004-12-21 15:54:05Z
created
Gofas, Serge
2013-08-29 09:33:55Z
changed
Caballer, Manuel
2020-04-22 20:33:16Z
changed
Marshall, Bruce

Creative Commons License The webpage text is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License


Nomenclature

original description Forster G. 1777. A voyage round the world in His Britannic Majesty's Sloop, Resolution, commanded by Capt. James Cook, during the years 1772, 3, 4 and 5. London, B. White, J. Robson, P. Elmsly and and G. Robinson. Vol. 1, pp. i-xviii, 1-602; vol. 2, pp. 1-607. , available online at http://www.dlib.si/details/URN:NBN:SI:doc-IFSE4BLP
page(s): vol. 1 p. 49 [details] 

original description (of Doris radiata Gmelin, 1791) Gmelin, J. F. (1791). Caroli a Linné Systema Naturae, ed. 13. Tome 1(6). Vermes. G. E. Beer, Lipsiae [Leipzig]. pp. 3021-3910. , available online at http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/83098#5
page(s): 3105 [details] OpenAccess publication

original description (of Glaucus flagellum Blumenbach, 1803) Blumenbach, J. F. (1803). Glaucus flagellum, ein noch unbeschriebnes Seethier. <em>Magazin für den neuesten Zustand der Naturkunde, mit Rücksicht auf die dazu gehörigen Hülfswissenschaften. Weimar.</em> 5: 336-343. [details] 

original description (of Glaucus hexapterigius Cuvier, 1805) Cuvier G. L. (1805). Mémoire sur le Scyllée, l'Eolide et le <i>Glaucus</i> avec des additions au mémoire sur la Tritonie. <i>Annales du Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris </i>: 6: 416-436, available online at http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/29094379 [details] 

original description (of Glaucus longicirrhus Reinhardt & Bergh, 1861) Bergh, L. S. R. (1861). Om Forekomsten af Neldfiim hos Mollusker. <em>Videnskabelige Meddelelser fra den Naturhistoriske Forening, Kjöbenhavn.</em> [for 1860]: 309-331, pl. 8., available online at http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/35803405 [details] 

original description (of Glaucus distichoicus A. d'Orbigny, 1836) Orbigny, A. D. d'. (1834-1847). <i>Voyage dans l'Amérique méridionale (le Brésil, la république orientale de l'Uruguay, la République argentine, la Patagonie, la république du Chili, la république de Bolivia, la république du Pérou), exécuté pendant les années 1826, 1827, 1828, 1829, 1830, 1831, 1832 et 1833</i>. Tome 5(3) Mollusques. pp. i-xliii, 1-758, 85 plates [pls 1-2, 1834; pp. 1-104, pls 3-7, 10, 12, 1835; pp. 105-184, pls 8-9, 11, 13-23, 25-28, 1836; pls 24, 29-43, 41bis, 45-46, 1837; pp. 185-376, pls 44, 47-52, 55, 1838; pls 54, 56-65, 1839; pl. 66, 1840; pp. 377-488, pls 53, 67-77, 80, 1841; pp. 489-758, 1846; pls 78-79, 82-85, 1847]. , available online at https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/49211253
page(s): pl. 14 figs 1-3 [1836]; 196-198 [1838]; 690 [1846] [details] OpenAccess publication

original description (of Glaucus lineatus Reinhardt & Bergh, 1861) Bergh, L. S. R. (1861). Om Forekomsten af Neldfiim hos Mollusker. <em>Videnskabelige Meddelelser fra den Naturhistoriske Forening, Kjöbenhavn.</em> [for 1860]: 309-331, pl. 8., available online at http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/35803405 [details] 

original description (of Glaucus lineatus Reinhardt & Bergh, 1864) Bergh, L. S. R. (1864). Anatomiske bidrag til kundskab om Aeolidierne. <em>Det Kongelige Videnskabernes Selskabs Skrifter, Naturvidenskabelige og Mathematiske Afdeling.</em> 7: 139–316., available online at http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/34761413 [details] 

original description (of Glaucus longicirrhus Reinhardt & Bergh, 1864) Bergh, L. S. R. (1864). Anatomiske bidrag til kundskab om Aeolidierne. <em>Det Kongelige Videnskabernes Selskabs Skrifter, Naturvidenskabelige og Mathematiske Afdeling.</em> 7: 139–316., available online at http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/34761413 [details] 

Taxonomy

redescription Valdés A. & Campillo O.A. (2004) Systematics of pelagic aeolid nudibranchs of the family Glaucidae (Mollusca, Gastropoda). <i>Bulletin of Marine Science</i> 75(3): 381–389., available online at http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/umrsmas/bullmar/2004/00000075/00000003/art00003 [details] 

status source Churchill C.K.C., Alejandrino, A. Valdés, Á. & Ó Foighil, D. (2013). Parallel changes in genital morphology delineate cryptic diversification of plamktonik nudibranchs. <i>Proceedings of the Royal Society B</i> 280: 20131224, available online at https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/epdf/10.1098/rspb.2013.1224 [details] 

Other

context source (Bermuda) Jensen, R. H. (1997). A Checklist and Bibliography of the Marine Molluscs of Bermuda. Unp. , 547 pp [details] 

context source (PeRMS) Ramírez, R.; Paredes, C.; Arenas, J. (2003). Moluscos del Perú. <em>Revista de Biologia Tropical.</em> 51(supplement 3): 225-284. [details] Available for editors  PDF available [request]

additional source Gosliner, T. et al. (2023). <i>Southern African Sea Slugs</i>. Southern Underwater Research Group Press, 7 Blackwood Drive, Hout Bay 7806, Cape Town, South Africa.
page(s): 622 [details] 

additional source Breyn R.P. (1705). De plantis et insectis quibusdam rarioribus in Hispania observatis. <em>Philosophical Transactions.</em> 24 (1704 - 1705),: 2045-2055, pl. 1-2., available online at https://www.jstor.org/stable/103000
note: First mention ever (under the pre-Linnean name "Hirudo marina") of Glaucus atlanticus on the coast of Altea, eastern Spain [details] 

additional source Bieri, R. (1966). Feeding preferences and rates of the snail, <i>Ianthina prolongata</i>, the barnacle, <i>Lepas anserifera</i>, the nudibranchs, <i>Glaucus atlanticus</i> and <i>Fiona pinnata</i>, and the food web in the marine neuston. <em>Publications of the Seto Marine Biological Laboratory, Kyōto University.</em> 14(2): 161-170., available online at https://repository.kulib.kyoto-u.ac.jp/server/api/core/bitstreams/2e8f0225-a11f-42e1-b1cf-bcdd0cf4fe24/content [details] 

additional source Thompson, T. E. & McFarlane, I. D. (1967). Observations on a collection of <i>Glaucus</i> from the Gulf of Aden with a critical review of published records of Glaucidae (Gastropoda, Opisthobranchia). <em>Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London.</em> 178(2): 107-123., available online at https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8312.1967.tb00967.x [details] Available for editors  PDF available [request]

additional source Spencer, H.G., Marshall, B.A. & Willan, R.C. (2009). Checklist of New Zealand living Mollusca. Pp 196-219. <em>in: Gordon, D.P. (ed.) New Zealand inventory of biodiversity. Volume one. Kingdom Animalia: Radiata, Lophotrochozoa, Deuterostomia.</em> Canterbury University Press, Christchurch. [details] OpenAccess publication

additional source Rosenberg, G.; Moretzsohn, F.; García, E. F. (2009). Gastropoda (Mollusca) of the Gulf of Mexico, Pp. 579–699 <i>in:</i> Felder, D.L. and D.K. Camp (eds.), Gulf of Mexico–Origins, Waters, and Biota. Texas A&M Press, College Station, Texas. [details] Available for editors  PDF available [request]

additional source Gosliner, T. M. (1980 ["1979"]). The systematics of the Aeolidiacea (Nudibranchia: Mollusca) of the Hawaiian Islands, with descriptions of two new species. <em>Pacific Science.</em> 33(1): 37-77., available online at http://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/handle/10125/1455 [details] 

additional source Branch, G. M. (2002). Two Oceans. 5th impression. <em>David Philip, Cate Town & Johannesburg.</em> , available online at http://books.google.es/books?id=W_2QB8ftLgcC [details] 

additional source Thompson, T.E. & I. Bennett, 1969. Physalia nematocysts: utilized by mollusks for defense. Science 166 : 1532-1533., available online at https://doi.org/10.1126/science.166.3912.1532 [details] Available for editors  PDF available [request]

additional source Gosliner, T. (1987). Nudibranchs of Southern Africa: A Guide to Opisthobranch Molluscs of Southern Africa. Sea Challengers, Monterey, California.
page(s): 127. [details] 

 
 Present  Present in aphia/obis/gbif/idigbio   Inaccurate  Introduced: alien  Containing type locality 
   

Unreviewed
Description A distinctive, truly pelagic silvery blue mollusc, up to 6 cm long, with three pairs of arms. Floats upside-down just under the sea surface, feeding on the colonial hydroids Physalia, Porpita and Velella. Habitat: offshore. Distribution: pantropical. N.B. must be handled with care as it can give an extremely painful sting, due to the nematocysts taken from the prey species Physalia, which itself gives a nasty sting. [details]
    Definitions

Loading...
LanguageName 
English sea swallowpurple ocean slugAtlantic Sea Swallow  [details]
Japanese アオミノウミウシ  [details]
To Barcode of Life (140 barcodes) 
To Biodiversity Heritage Library (10 publications) (from synonym Glaucus lineatus Reinhardt & Bergh, 1861)
To Biodiversity Heritage Library (104 publications) 
To Biodiversity Heritage Library (29 publications) (from synonym Doris radiata Gmelin, 1791)
To Biological Information System for Marine Life (BISMaL) 
To European Nucleotide Archive, ENA (Glaucus atlanticus) 
To GenBank (208 nucleotides; 146 proteins) 
To PESI 
To PESI (from synonym Glaucus distichoicus A. d'Orbigny, 1836)
To PESI (from synonym Doris radiata Gmelin, 1791)
To PESI (from synonym Glaucus flagellum Blumenbach, 1803)
To PESI (from synonym Glaucus hexapterigius Cuvier, 1805)
To PESI (from synonym Glaucus longicirrhus Reinhardt & Bergh, 1861)
To Sea Slug Forum (via archive.org) 
To USNM Invertebrate Zoology Mollusca Collection 
To Wikipedia 
To ITIS
From editor or global species database
Unreviewed

WoRMS

Using WoRMS

Tools

Connect with us

This service is powered by LifeWatch Belgium
Learn more»
Website and databases developed and hosted by Flanders Marine Institute · Page generated on 2025-12-02 09:04:00+01:00 · Privacy and cookie policy