Tritonia khaleesi

Tritonia khaleesi
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: Tritoniidae
Genus: Tritonia
Species: T. khaleesi
Binomial name
Tritonia khaleesi
(de Vasconcelos Silva et al., 2013)[1]

Tritonia khaleesi is a species of sea slug, a dendronotid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Tritoniidae.

T. khaleesi was discovered off north-east Brazil in the South Atlantic Ocean and first described in 2013.

Description

This species is up to 12 millimetres (0.47 in) long, with a slender white body, whose notum features a broad white band between the eyes and the tail. It is the only known Tritonia with an unicuspid rachidian tooth in adult form.[1]

Etymology

The species is named after the title "Khaleesi" used by the fictional character Daenerys Targaryen in the fantasy novel series A Song of Ice and Fire. The discoverers chose the name because the silver-colored band on the back of the slug reminded them of the pale blond hair of the character as played by Emilia Clarke in the television adaptation Game of Thrones.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 Silva, F. D. V.; Azevedo, V. M. D.; Matthews-Cascon, H. (2013). "A new species of Tritonia (Opisthobranchia: Nudibranchia: Tritoniidae) from the tropical South Atlantic Ocean". Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom: 1. doi:10.1017/S0025315413001586.
  2. Hudson, Laura. "Newly Discovered Sea Slug Named After Game of Thrones Character". Underwire. Wired. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
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