Warty pleurobranch
Warty pleurobranch Pleurobranchaea bubala | |
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A close-up of Pleurobranchaea bubula, head towards the left | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Mollusca |
Class: | Gastropoda |
(unranked): | clade Heterobranchia clade Euthyneura |
Superfamily: | Pleurobranchoidea |
Family: | Pleurobranchaeidae |
Genus: | Pleurobranchaea |
Species: | P. bubala |
Binomial name | |
Pleurobranchaea bubala Marcus & Gosliner, 1984 | |
The warty pleurobranch, scientific name Pleurobranchaea bubala, is a species of sea slug, specifically a sidegill slug or notaspidean. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Pleurobranchaeidae.
Distribution
This species is endemic to the South African coast, and is found only from Hout Bay to Jeffreys Bay[1] in 5-30 m of water.[2]
Description
The warty pleurobranch has an oval sandy-coloured body with large opaque white bumps on the notum. It has a spade-shaped head and two widely separated rhinophores. There is a single gill on right hand side of body. It can be confused with the dwarf warty pleurobranch, which is smaller, has a smoother skin and can be found in deeper water.[1]
Ecology
This pleurobranch is a voracious predator on other opisthobranchs. It has been seen eating smaller individuals of the same species.[3] Its egg ribbon is a sizeable roll of several white loops.