Dendronotus

Dendronotus
Dendronotus iris
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
(unranked):	clade Heterobranchia clade Euthyneura clade Nudipleura clade Nudibranchia clade Dexiarchia clade Cladobranchia clade Dendronotida
Superfamily:	Tritonioidea
Family:	Dendronotidae
Genus:	Dendronotus Alder & Hancock, 1845
Species:	see text
Type species
Doris arborescens Müller O.F., 1776
Synonyms[1]
Amphitrite Ascanius, 1774 (Invalid: junior homonym of Amphitrite Müller, 1771 [Annelida]) Campaspe Bergh, 1863 Pseudobornella Baba, 1932

Dendronotus is a genus of sea slugs, nudibranchs, marine gastropod molluscs in the superfamily Tritonioidea.^[1]

This genus is within the clade Cladobranchia (according to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005).

Description

Dendronotus has an elongated, broad body, with 4 to 8 pairs of branched cerata on the notum. Animals in this genus have an obvious oral veil with 2 to 5 extensions. These extensions may be branched. Smaller unbranched extensions are found around the mouth. The rhinophores are surrounded by a sheath and the sheath itself has branched extensions. A large extension is found on the side at the base of each rhinophore. The anal opening occurs between the first and second set of dorsal cerata on the right side of the body.^[2]

Woodcut of marine nudibranchs Eolis and Dendronotus^[3]

Diet

This genus feeds on hydroids, as reflected by its serrated radula.^{[4] [5][6]}

Species

Species within the genus Dendronotus include:

• Dendronotus albopunctatus Robilliard, 1972
• Dendronotus albus MacFarland, 1966
• Dendronotus comteti Valdés & Bouchet, 1998
• Dendronotus dalli Bergh, 1879
• Dendronotus elegans A. E. Verrill, 1880
• Dendronotus frondosus (Ascanius, 1774) (synonyms: D. arborescens, D. reynoldsi)
• Dendronotus gracilis Baba, 1949
• Dendronotus iris J.G. Cooper, 1863 (synonym: D. giganteus)
• Dendronotus kalikal  Ekimova, Korshunova, Schepetov, Neretina, Sanamyan & Martynov, 2015
• Dendronotus kamchaticus Ekimova, Korshunova, Schepetov, Neretina, Sanamyan & Martynov, 2015
• Dendronotus lacteus (Thompson W., 1840)
• Dendronotus niveus Ekimova, Korshunova, Schepetov, Neretina, Sanamyan & Martynov, 2015
• Dendronotus noahi Pola & Stout, 2008
• Dendronotus orientalis (Baba, 1932)
• Dendronotus patricki Stout, N. G. Wilson & Valdés, 2011
• Dendronotus regius Pola & Stout, 2008
• Dendronotus robustus Verrill, 1870 (synonym: D. velifer)
• Dendronotus rufus O'Donoghue, 1921
• Dendronotus subramosus MacFarland, 1966
• Dendronotus venustus MacFarland, 1966

Species brought into synonymy

• Dendronotus diversicolor Robilliard, 1972: synonym of Dendronotus albus MacFarland, 1966
• Dendronotus luteolus Lafont, 1871: synonym of Dendronotus frondosus (Ascanius, 1774)
• Dendronotus nanus Marcus & Marcus, 1967: synonym of Dendronotus iris J. G. Cooper, 1863
• Dendronotus stellifer A. Adams & Reeve [in A. Adams], 1848: synonym of Bornella stellifer (A. Adams & Reeve [in A. Adams], 1848)
• Dendronotus tenellus A. Adams & Reeve [in A. Adams], 1848: synonym of Bornella stellifer (A. Adams & Reeve [in A. Adams], 1848)
• Dendronotus velifer Sars G.O., 1878: synonym of Dendronotus robustus A. E. Verrill, 1870

References

1. Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S. (2014). Dendronotus Alder & Hancock, 1845. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2015-01-22.
2. Ekimova, I.; Korshunova, T.; Schepetov, D.; Neretina, T.; Sanamyan, N.; Martynov, A. (2015). Integrative systematics of northern and Arctic nudibranchs of the genus Dendronotus (Mollusca, Gastropoda), with descriptions of three new species. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 173(4): 841-886.
3. Beddard, Frank Evers (1892). Animal Coloration, Swan Sonnenschein.
4. Robilliard, G.A. (1970). The systematics and some aspects of the ecology of the genus Dendronotus. The Veliger, 12: 433–479.
5. W. J. Lambert (1991). "Coexistence of Hydroid Eating Nudibranchs: Do Feeding Biology and Habitat Use Matter?". The Biological Bulletin 181 (2): 248–260. doi:10.2307/1542096.
6. Robilliard, G. A. (1972). "A new species of Dendronotus from the northeastern Pacific with notes on Dendronotus nanus and Dendronotus robustus (Mollusca: Opisthobranchia)". Canadian Journal of Zoology 50 (4): 421–432. doi:10.1139/z72-060.

External links

• SEM images of the radula can be found at Thompson; Bebbington (1973). "Scanning electron microscope studies of gastropod radulae". Malacologia 14: 147–165.