Dendronotus albus

Dendronotus albus is a species of sea slug, a dendronotid nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusc in the family Dendronotidae.[4]

Dendronotus albus
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:
Dendronotidae
Genus:
Dendronotus
Species:
D. albus
Binomial name
Dendronotus albus
Synonyms[2]

Dendronotus diversicolor Robilliard, 1970[3]

Distribution

This species was described from shallow water at Point Pinos, Monterey Bay, California, United States. It has been reported from the west coast of North America from Alaska to Baja California, Mexico.[5]

Taxonomic history

Robilliard[3] correctly recognised that there were two species of Dendronotus in the NE Pacific and described Dendronotus diversicolor as a new species. D. albus and D. diversicolor were synonymised by Stout et al., 2010, probably because the specimens they studied did not include both species.[2] In fact Robilliard consistently used the name D. albus for Dendronotus robilliardi and redescribed the true D. albus as D. diversicolor.[5]

Description

This species grows to a maximum length of 73 mm.[3] It is distinguished from Dendronotus robilliardi by having only four pairs of large cerata (and two extra, small cerata in big animals). D . robilliardi is a smaller animal but has 5-7 pairs.[3] The body and cerata are translucent white with opaque white and orange-yellow tips to the cerata, although in some cases the orange-yellow is absent.[6]

Diet

This species feeds preferentially on the hydroids Abietinaria greenei, Hydrallmania distans and Abietinaria amphora.[3] Dendronotus robilliardi is said to prefer Thuiaria argentea in the family Sertulariidae.[3]

References
  1. MacFarland F.M. (1966) Studies of opisthobranchiate mollusks of the pacific coast of North America. Memoirs of the California Academy of Sciences VI: 1-546. page(s): 147.
  2. Stout C.C., Pola M. & Valdés Á. (2010) Phylogenetic analysis of Dendronotus nudibranchs with emphasis on northeastern Pacific species. Journal of Molluscan Studies 76: 367-375. page(s): 373
  3. Robilliard, G.A. (1970) The systematics and some aspects of the ecology of the genus Dendronotus (Gastropoda: Nudibranchia). The Veliger, 12(4): 433–479.
  4. Bouchet, P. (2015). Dendronotus albus. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2016-01-26.
  5. Korshunova T., Sanamyan N., Zimina O., Fletcher K. & Martynov A. (2016). Two new species and a remarkable record of the genus Dendronotus from the North Pacific and Arctic oceans (Nudibranchia). ZooKeys. 630: 19-42, page(s): 28, figs 2, 3B
  6. Rudman, W.B., 2005 (October 3) Dendronotus diversicolor Robilliard, 1970. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.
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