Galapagos Species Database

The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.

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Fiona pinnata (Eschscholtz, 1831)

Featuring cerata on the lateral surfaces that are uniquely sail shaped, but do not occur in the dorsal midsection. Usually cream or brown in color.

Found attached to floating objects (such as drift wood, fishing boats and kelp rafts), that attract barnacles on which it feeds.

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Animalia

Phylum
Mollusca

Class
Gastropoda

Order
Nudibranchia

Suborder
Dexiarchia

Superfamily
Fionoidea

Family
Fionidae

Genus
Fiona

Species
pinnata

Taxon category: Accepted

Syn.: Eolidia natans d'Orbigny, 1837, Eolidia pinnata Eschscholtz, 1831, Oithona nobilis Alder & Hancock, 1851

Origin: Native

Distribution

Distribution: Cosmopolitan in range.

References

  • Hickman, C.P. Jr. (2008) A field guide to corals and other radiates of Galápagos. Sugar Spring Press, Lexington, Virginia, 162 pp.
  • Keen, A.M. (1958) Sea Shells of Tropical West America. Stanford University Press, Palo Alto, 1st edition, 624 pp.

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This page should be cited as follows:

"Galapagos Species Database, Fiona pinnata", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=8741. Accessed 7 June 2026.