Warty pleurobranch

Warty pleurobranch
Pleurobranchaea bubala
A close-up of Pleurobranchaea bubula, head towards the left
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
(unranked): clade Heterobranchia

clade Euthyneura
clade Nudipleura
clade Pleurobranchomorpha

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

The egg ribbon of the warty pleurobranch being eaten by hunchback amphipods

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.

References

  1. 1 2 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. Gosliner, T. M. 1987. Nudibranchs of Southern Africa ISBN 0-930118-13-8
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