In August 2009 six specimens of the ovulid gastropod Xandarovula patula (Pennant, 1777) (formerly known as Simnia patula Pennant, 1777), were found in dredge samples from a locality west of Smögen in western Sweden (58°22′N 11°05′E). In June and November 2010 a total of three specimens of the same species were found in dredge samples from near Svelgen Bridge, Øygarden, Hordaland, western Norway (60°27 ′N 04°57 ′E). Several small colonies of the presumed prey species, Alcyonium digitatum Linnaeus, 1758 and Tubularia indivisa Linnaeus, 1758, were found in the same dredge hauls. Xandarovula patula has been recorded from the Atlantic coast of southern Spain to the western end of the English Channel, with scattered records from the west coasts of Ireland and Britain, as far north as the Orkneys. More recently it has been reported from most Irish coasts, several parts of the Scottish coast and also from some places in the North Sea. Until now there have been no confirmed records from Scandinavian waters. The specimens recorded here may indicate recent immigration of a southern species due to warmer water temperatures. |
