Dendronotus albus

Dendronotus albus
Dendronotus albus
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
Species: D. albus
Binomial name
Dendronotus albus
(MacFarland, 1966)[1]
Synonyms[2]

Dendronotus diversicolor Robilliard, 1970[3]

Dendronotus albus is a species of sea slug, a dendronotid nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusc in the family Dendronotidae.[4]

Distribution

This marine animal can be found off the west coast of North America from Alaska to Baja California.[5][6][7]

Description

This species grows to a maximum length of 3.5 cm. It has an opaque white line on the tail and was distinguished from Dendronotus diversicolor by having more than four pairs of cerata, (typically 5 to 7), whilst D . diversicolor is a bigger animal but has no more than four or five pairs.[3] These two names were synonymised by Stout et al., 2010.[2] The body and cerata are translucent white with opaque white and orange-yellow tips to the cerata, although in some cases the orange-yellow is absent.[6][8]

Diet

This species feeds preferentially on the hydroid Thuiaria argentea in the family Sertulariidae.[3] Dendronotus diversicolor is said to prefer Abietinaria greenei, Hydrallmania distans and Abietinaria amphora.[3]

References

  1. ↑ MacFarland F.M. (1966) Studies of opisthobranchiate mollusks of the pacific coast of North America. Memoirs of the California Academy of Sciences VI: 1-546. page(s): 147.
  2. 1 2 Stout C.C., Pola M. & Valdés Á. (2010) Phylogenetic analysis of Dendronotus nudibranchs with emphasis on northeastern Pacific species. Journal of Molluscan Studies 76: 367-375. page(s): 373
  3. 1 2 3 4 Robilliard, G.A. (1970) The systematics and some aspects of the ecology of the genus Dendronotus (Gastropoda: Nudibranchia). The Veliger, 12(4): 433–479.
  4. ↑ Bouchet, P. (2015). Dendronotus albus. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2016-01-26.
  5. ↑ Behrens, D. W., & Hermosillo, A. (2005) Eastern Pacific nudibranchs, a guide to the opisthobranchs from Alaska to Central America. vi + 137 pp., 314 photos. Sea Challengers, Monterey, California, pages 93, 94.
  6. 1 2 Rudman, W.B., 2001 (August 12) Dendronotus albus Macfarland, 1966. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.
  7. ↑ Turgeon, D.; Quinn, J.F.; Bogan, A.E.; Coan, E.V.; Hochberg, F.G.; Lyons, W.G.; Mikkelsen, P.M.; Neves, R.J.; Roper, C.F.E.; Rosenberg, G.; Roth, B.; Scheltema, A.; Thompson, F.G.; Vecchione, M.; Williams, J.D. (1998). Common and scientific names of aquatic invertebrates from the United States and Canada: mollusks. 2nd ed. American Fisheries Society Special Publication, 26. American Fisheries Society: Bethesda, MD (USA). ISBN 1-888569-01-8. IX, 526 + cd-rom pp
  8. ↑ Rudman, W.B., 2005 (October 3) Dendronotus diversicolor Robilliard, 1970. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.


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