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J. MOLES, G. MAS, I. FIGUEROA, R. FERNÁNDEZ-VILERT, X. SALVADOR, J. GIMÉNEZ 343

Figure 1. Aplysia dactylomela. Live, underwater photographs recorded from A. Cap d’en Font (Minorca, Balearic Islands, Spain) by
Joop Werson. B. Cala Secains (Girona, Catalonia, Spain) by Xavier Salvador. C. Cala Es Caials (Girona, Catalonia, Spain) by Àlex
Bartolí.

Mediterranean Sea. Firstly, A. dactylomela is known to be 2010). Undoubtedly, the high ecological success of this
a fast grower, feeding on a wide variety of seaweeds widely distributed species can be attributed to the ability to
(Carefoot, 1970): Cladophora, Chaetomorpha, feed upon a wide variety of toxic seaweeds (e.g. Laurencia
Enteromorpha, Gelidium, Hypnea, Laurencia, and spp.), and use the consumed secondary metabolites for their
Polysiphonia. All of these algae are commonly found in own benefit, either by storing or transforming them
shallow waters of the Mediterranean Sea (Guiry & Guiry, (reviewed in Avila et al., in press). Overall, a rapid growth
2016); therefore these are putative areas of colonization for coupled with generalist feeding habits and an active
A. dactylomela. Secondly, A. dactylomela is chemically defence against sympatric predation make this species an
protected against predation, relying on a panoply of natural efficient cryptogenic invader. These facts are similarly
products mostly derived from algal prey (Kamio et al., shown in another invasive anaspidean, Syphonota