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The aeolid nudibranch Caloria elegans (Facelinidae) is quite common in the Mediterranean Sea and eastern Atlantic Ocean and is easily recognized by the presence of a typical black spot at the apical portion of its cerata. Facelina quatrefagesi (Facelinidae) was long considered as a synonym of C. elegans until recently, when it was re-evaluated as a valid species based mainly on rhinophore morphology. In order to definitively assess the status of these aeolid taxa, we employed an integrative taxonomy approach using the nuclear H3 and the two mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I and 16S markers. The molecular analyses clearly showed that, although morphologically closely related to C. elegans, F. quatrefagesi is a valid species.

We report detailed morphometric observations on several MIS 5.5 and a few older (MIS 11, 21, 25) fossil tidal notches shaped along carbonate coasts at 80 sites in the central Mediterranean Sea and at an additional six sites in the eastern and western Mediterranean. At each site, we performed precise measurements of the fossil tidal notch (FTN) width and depth, and of the elevation of its base relative to the base of the present tidal notch (PTN). The age of the fossil notches is obtained by correlation with biologic material associated with the notches at or very close to the site. This material was previously dated either through radiometric analysis or by its fossiliferous content. The width (i.e. the difference in elevation between base and top) of the notches ranges from 1.20 to 0.38 m, with a mean of 0.74 m. Although the FTN is always a few centimetres wider than the PTN, probably because of the lack of the biological reef coupled with a small erosional enlargement in the FTN, the broadly comparable width suggests that tide amplitude has not changed since MIS 5.5 times. This result can be extended to the MIS 11 features because of a comparable notch width, but not to the MIS 21 and 25 epochs. Although observational control of these older notches is limited, we regard this result as suggesting that changes in tide amplitude broadly occurred at the Early-Middle Pleistocene transition. The investigated MIS 5.5 notches are located in tectonically stable coasts, compared to other sectors of the central Mediterranean Sea where they are uplifted or subsided to ~100 m and over. In these stable areas, the elevation of the base of the MIS 5.5 notch ranges from 2.09 to 12.48 m, with a mean of 5.7 m. Such variability, although limited, indicates that small land movements, deriving from slow crustal processes, may have occurred in stable areas. We defined a number of sectors characterized by different geologic histories, where a careful evaluation of local vertical land motion allowed the selection of the best representative elevation of the MIS 5.5 peak highstand for each sector. This elevation has been compared against glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) predictions drawn from a suite of ice-sheet models (ICE-G5, ICE-G6 and ANICE-SELEN) that are used in combination with the same solid Earth model and mantle viscosity parameters. Results indicate that the GIA signal is not the main cause of the observed highstand variability and that other mechanisms are needed. The GIA simulations show that, even within the Mediterranean Basin, the maximum highstand is reached at different times according to the geographical location. Our work shows that, besides GIA, even in areas considered tectonically stable, additional vertical tectonic movements may occur with a magnitude that is significantly larger than the GIA. © 2018 Elsevier B.V.

Understanding the impacts of microplastics on living organisms in aquatic habitats is one of the hottest research topics worldwide. Despite increased attention, investigating microplastics in underwater environments remains a problematic task, due to the ubiquitous occurrence of microplastic, its multiple modes of interactions with the biota, and to the diversity of the synthetic organic polymers composing microplastics in the field. Several studies on microplastics focused on marine invertebrates, but to date, the benthic sea slugs (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Heterobranchia) were not yet investigated. Sea slugs are known to live on the organisms on which they feed on or to snack while gliding over the sea floor, but also as users of exogenous molecules or materials not only for nutrition. Therefore, they may represent a potential biological model to explore new modes of transformation and/or management of plastic, so far considered to be a non-biodegradable polymer. In this study we analysed the stomachal content of Bursatella leachii, an aplysiid heterobranch living in the Mar Piccolo, a highly polluted coastal basin near Taranto, in the northern part of the Ionian Sea. Microplastics were found in the stomachs of all the six sampled specimens, and SEM/EDX analyses were carried out to characterize the plastic debris. The SEM images and EDX spectra gathered here should be regarded as a baseline reference database for future investigations on marine Heterobranchia and their interactions with microplastics.

During the last twenty years, several studies have demonstrated the primary role of the lithological properties of hard substrates in conditioning the diversity and structure of marine sessile communities (aka bio-mineralogy). This research was dedicated to testing whether different substrates (limestones and granites) influence higher levels of the trophic net. For this purpose, the diversity and abundance of heterobranch molluscs were used to test the hypothesis that their distribution could mirror their prey. The study was conducted in the ‘Tavolara-Punta Coda Cavallo’ Marine Protected Area (NE Sardinia, Mediterranean Sea), where substrates of different lithology co-occur in a restricted area. Diversity and abundance of heterobranchs were investigated by photographic sampling (3300 studied images) in twelve sites (six limestones and six granites), between 35 and 50 m depth, demonstrating clear preferences of several species for a specific substrate, while others are ubiquitarian. In general, diversity and abundance were higher on limestones due to the exclusive presence of Sacoglossa coupled with a more significant number of Cladobranchia and Doridina; on the other hand, Umbraculida were strongly granite-selected. In some cases, the different affinity of each species was clarified by the distribution of their food sources, but, in others, it is possible to hypothesise that the structure of the whole benthic community, affected by the substrate characteristics, may drive the heterobranchs' distribution.

Species delimitation is particularly challenging in Mediterranean nudibranchs because morphological distinction between closely related species is subtle and several cryptic species have been discovered. In this study, we apply an integrative approach to investigate taxonomic distinction of Flabellina cavolini and F.gaditana and assess their genetic and morphologic distinction. We combined a comprehensive phylogeographic survey from across their distribution range and compared genetic variation at mitochondrial and nuclear markers with the variation in colour pattern of cerata that is used to discriminate these two species. Phylogenetic, phylogeographic and species delimitation analyses consistently identify two evolutionary and taxonomic units that do not match with the morphospecies, demonstrating that Flabellina cavolini and F.gaditana are indeed two cryptic, closely related, species and that colour pattern of cerata is not a valid diagnostic character. This study emphasizes how the comparison of range-wide patterns of phylogenetic and morphological variation, with the inclusion of samples from the type localities, is essential for species delimitation of Mediterranean nudibranchs. Moreover, this study demonstrates the occurrence of Flabellina gaditana in the Mediterranean Sea, allowing to extend the known distribution range of the species, that was previously restricted to the eastern Atlantic Ocean, as well as increasing our inventory of Mediterranean nudibranch diversity.

We present and discuss the genesis, age and evolution of indented landforms carved at sea level in correspondence of carbonatic headlands in three sites of the central Mediterranean coasts, between Marseille (France) and Balzi Rossi (Italy), the island of Tavolara (Sardinia, Italy) and the promontory of Tindari (Sicily, Italy). The shape of these anomalous notches landforms can be referred to is very similar to tidal notches, despite their genesis and morphometric parameters are different from those suggested by other Authors for the central Mediterranean area. Two of these sites are located in tectonically stable areas, while the third falls is located in an uplifting area. Those The notches we investigated along the coast of southern France, are submerged notch-type landforms located in the vicinities surroundings of current modern tidal notches. At Tavolara island, these anomalous notches are placed at about 25 m b.s.l. these landforms and have the shape of “mushroom-like notches”. Finally, those investigated along the metamorphic-carbonatic promontory of Tindari, are marine and abrasional notches, that have been uplifted, likely during the Holocene.

The nudibranch Tritonia nilsodhneri, usually feeding on a variety of gorgoniacean species, is known from different localities of the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Knowledge of the host preferences of the Mediterranean populations is still scarce. Few records of this nudibranch have been reported from the eastern Mediterranean basin. With this report, the occurrence of T. nilsodhneri within the Mediterranean basin is extended to the Adriatic Sea. Furthermore, the list of the host species associated to the Mediterranean populations for feeding habits is increased from two up to five. Mediterranean specimens of T. nilsodhneri were observed for the first time feeding and spawning on Leptogorgia sarmentosa, Eunicella cavolini and E. labiata. Finally, these last two Gorgoniidae species are also reported here as a new host species for T. nilsodhneri., Morski puž golać, Tritonia nilsodhneri, poznat je s različitih lokaliteta istočnog Atlantskog oceana i Sredozemnog mora, a obično se hrani raznim vrstama gorgonija. Podatci o domaćinima za ovu vrstu u Sredozemlju su još uvijek rijetki. Postoji nekoliko zapisa o ovom pužu u istočnom dijelu Sredozemlja. Ovim radom zabilježena je nazočnost vrste T. nilsodhneri u Jadranskom moru. Nadalje, popis vrsta domaćina koji su povezani sa hranjenjem i mriještenjem sredozemne populacije se povećao sa dva na pet. Sredozemni primjerci T. nilsodheri su po prvi put zabilježeni tijekom hranjenja i mriješćenja na vrstama Leptogorgia sarmentosa, Eunicella cavolini i E. labiata. Ove posljednje dvije spomenute vrste Gorgonida su u ovom radu po prvi put zabilježene kao nova vrsta domaćina za T. nilsodheri.