Montereina nobilis

Montereina nobilis
Montereina nobilis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
(unranked): clade Heterobranchia
clade Euthyneura
clade Nudipleura
clade Nudibranchia
Superfamily: Doridoidea
Family: Discodorididae
Genus: Montereina
Species: M. nobilis
Binomial name
Montereinanobilis
MacFarland, 1905
Synonyms
  • Anisodoris nobilis (MacFarland, 1905)
  • Diaulula nobilis (MacFarland, 1905)
  • Peltodoris nobilis (MacFarland, 1905)

Montereina nobilis, commonly called the sea lemon, false sea lemon, or the noble dorid, is a species of colorful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusk in the family Discodorididae. [1]

This species was previously placed in the genus Anisodoris and was known for a long time as Anisodoris nobilis. Subsequently it was known as Diaulula nobilis.

This animal gives off a pleasant citrus smell when it is handled, and this (along with its yellow coloration) is what is responsible for the common name "sea lemon".

Distribution

This species occurs in the Eastern Pacific Ocean from Alaska to Baja California. It eats sponges.

Description

This nudibranch is variable in color, from a very pale yellow through a rich yellow, to a rather dark orange. The gill rosette is tinged with white at the tips.

The dorsum is covered in tubercles. There are a number of dark spots on the dorsum, but never on the tubercles themselves. These dark spots vary a lot in number from one individual to the next.

This animal can grow to be as large as 200 mm, or nearly 8 inches in length.

References

  1. Bouchet, P. (2015). Montereina nobilis. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=579084 on 2015-03-26

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, March 26, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.