Verconia

Verconia is a genus of sea slugs, dorid nudibranchs, shell-less marine gastropod mollusks in the family Chromodorididae.^[2]

Verconia
A live individual of Verconia romeri, in situ, head end towards the lower left
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Order:	Nudibranchia
Family:	Chromodorididae
Genus:	Verconia Pruvot-Fol, 1931 [1]
Type species
Verconia verconis Basedow & Hedley, 1905
Synonyms
Noumea Risbec, 1928

The host sponges for species in this genus are sponges in the genera Darwinella and Dendrilla.

Noumea Risbec, 1928 (Mollusca: Gastropoda) is a junior homonym of Noumea Fauvel, 1874 (Arthropoda: Coleoptera), a name in current use. Verconia Pruvot-Fol, 1931 was recognized as a synonym of Noumea Risbec by Johnson & Gosliner (2012) and is here used for species of the chromodoridid group previously known as Noumea.^[2][3]

Species

Species in the genus Verconia include:^{[2][4][5][6][7]}

• Verconia alboannulata Rudman, 1986
• Verconia aureopunctata Rudman, 1987
• Verconia catalai Rudman, 1990
• Verconia closeorum Rudman, 1986
• Verconia decussata Risbec, 1928
• Verconia haliclona Burn, 1957
• Verconia hongkongiensis Rudman, 1990
• Verconia laboutei Rudman, 1986
• Verconia nivalis Baba, 1937
• Verconia norba Marcus & Marcus, 1970
• Verconia parva (Baba, 1949)
• Verconia protea Gosliner, 1994^[8]
• Verconia purpurea Baba, 1949
• Verconia romeri Risbec, 1928 - type species
• Verconia simplex Pease, 1871
• Verconia spencerensis Rudman, 1987
• Verconia subnivalis Baba, 1987
• Verconia sudanica Rudman, 1985
• Verconia varians Pease, 1871
• Verconia verconiforma Rudman, 1995
• Verconia verconis Basedow & Hedley, 1905

Species brought into synonymy:

• Noumea angustolutea Rudman, 1990: synonym of Ardeadoris angustolutea (Rudman, 1990)
• Noumea cameroni Burn, 1966: synonym of Verconia haliclona (Burn, 1957)
• Noumea closei Rudman, 1986: synonym of Verconia closeorum Rudman, 1986
• Noumea crocea Rudman, 1986: synonym of Diversidoris crocea (Rudman, 1986)
• Noumea flava (Eliot, 1904): synonym of Diversidoris flava (Eliot, 1904)
• Noumea margaretae Burn, 1966: synonym of Verconia haliclona (Burn, 1957)
• Noumea regalis Ortea, Caballer & Moro, 2001: synonym of Chromodoris regalis (Ortea, Caballer & Moro, 2001)
• Noumea sulphurea Rudman, 1986: synonym of Diversidoris sulphurea (Rudman, 1986)
• Noumea violacea Risbec, 1930: synonym of Hallaxa indecora (Bergh, 1905)

References

1. Pruvot-Fol A. (1931-1932). Notes de systématique sur les opisthobranches. Bulletin du Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle. ser. 2, 3(3): 308-316 [March 1931]; 3(8): 746-755 [1932]., available online at https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/244728#page/316/mode/1up
2. MolluscaBase (2018). Verconia Pruvot-Fol, 1931. Accessed on 2018-12-25.
3. Johnson R.F. & Gosliner T.M. (2012) Traditional taxonomic groupings mask evolutionary history: A molecular phylogeny and new classification of the chromodorid nudibranchs. PLoS ONE 7(4): e33479
4. Rudman W. B. (1984). "The Chromodorididae (Opisthobranchia: Mollusca) of the Indo-West Pacific: a review of the genera". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 81(2/3): 115-273. pages: 137.
5. Rudman W.B. (1988). The Chromodorididae (Ophistobranchia: Mollusca) of the Indo-West Pacific: the genus Ceratosoma J.E. Gray. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 93 (1): 133-185. page(s): 181
6. Rudman W. B. & Darvell B. W. (1990). "Opisthobranch molluscs of Hong Kong: Part 1. Goniodorididae, Onchidorididae, Triophidae, Gymnodorididae, Chromodorididae (Nudibranchia)". Asian Marine Biology 7: 31-79. pages: 54.
7. Rudman W. B. (1990). "The Chromodorididae (Opisthobranchia: Mollusca) of the Indo-West Pacific: further species of Glossodoris, Thorunna and the Chromodoris aureomarginata colour group". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 100: 263-326. pages: 295, 298.
8. Gosliner T. M. (1994). "New species of Chromodoris and Noumea (Nudibranch: Chromodorididae) from the Western Indian Ocean and Southern Africa". Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. 12 48:239-252