Warty dorid

For the southern African warty dorid, see Doris granosa.
Warty dorid
Doris verrucosa
The warty dorid on a group of sponges, head end to the bottom of the image
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
(unranked): clade Heterobranchia

clade Euthyneura
clade Nudipleura
clade Nudibranchia
clade Euctenidiacea
clade Doridacea

Superfamily: Doridoidea
Family: Dorididae
Genus: Doris
Species: D. verrucosa
Binomial name
Doris verrucosa
Linnaeus, 1758

The warty dorid, scientific name Doris verrucosa, is a species of dorid nudibranch. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Dorididae.

Distribution

This species is found in the Indian and Atlantic oceans from the high intertidal to 14 m.[1]

Description

The warty dorid is a yellow-brown oval nudibranch with a distinctive warty skin. It has eight gills arranged around the anus and its rhinophores are perfoliate. It may reach a total length of 30 mm.[2]

The maximum recorded length is 70 mm.[3]

Ecology

Minimum recorded depth is 0 m.[3] Maximum recorded depth is 12 m.[3]

The warty dorid feeds on the crumb-of-bread sponge, Hymeniacedon perlevis, which it closely resembles in colour. Its egg mass is a tall upright collar of several complete whorls.

References

  1. GOSLINER, T.M. 1987. Nudibranchs of Southern Africa ISBN 0-930118-13-8
  2. ZSILAVECZ, G. 2007. Nudibranchs of the Cape Peninsula and False Bay. ISBN 0-620-38054-3
  3. 1 2 3 Welch J. J. (2010). "The "Island Rule" and Deep-Sea Gastropods: Re-Examining the Evidence". PLoS ONE 5(1): e8776. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0008776.
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