Limacia cockerelli

Limacia cockerelli is a species of sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusc in the family Polyceridae.[2][3]

Limacia cockerelli
Limacia cockerelli
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Mollusca
Class:
Gastropoda
(unranked):
clade Heterobranchia
clade Euthyneura
clade Nudipleura
clade Nudibranchia
clade Euctenidiacea
clade Doridacea
Superfamily:
Polyceroidea
Family:
Polyceridae
Subfamily:
Triophinae
Tribe:
Limaciini
Genus:
Limacia
Species:
L. cockerelli
Binomial name
Limacia cockerelli
Synonyms

Laila cockerelli

Distribution

This species is found from the West coast of North America, ranging from Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada to San Diego. It was also reported in the Gulf of California at Bahía de los Ángeles but those records are now known to be the similar species Limacia mcdonaldi.[4][5]

Limacia cockerelli

Description

This species reaches lengths of 26 mm (1.0 in). It has long dorsal papillae with orange-red tips and white branchial plumes with red tips.[6] There is a broad band of white tubercles down the middle of the dorsum which may sometimes have a small spot of orange at the apex. The second form, found in areas south of Point Conception has tubercles that are in a mid-dorsal line, slightly longer and tipped with orange.[7] Another form in California has large red blotches on the dorsum. The eggs of Limacia cockerelli are pink and develop after 17 days (at 10–13 °C [50–55 °F]) into hatching planktotrophic veligers. It was thought likely that the southern form represented a species complex.[8] This was confirmed in 2017 with the description of Limacia mcdonaldi.[5]

Diet

This animal preys exclusively on the orange-brown coloured bryozoan, Hincksina velata.[4]

References
  1. MacFarland, Frank Mace (1905) A preliminary account of the Dorididae of Monterey Bay, California. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, 18: 35-54.
  2. Bouchet, P. (2015). Limacia cockerelli (MacFarland, 1905). In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2015-12-22
  3. Bouchet P. & Rocroi J.-P. (Ed.); Frýda J., Hausdorf B., Ponder W., Valdes A. & Warén A. (2005) Classification and nomenclator of gastropod families. Malacologia: International Journal of Malacology, 47(1-2). ConchBooks: Hackenheim, Germany. ISBN 3-925919-72-4. ISSN 0076-2997. 397 pp.
  4. Goddard, J.H.R., 2000 (July 3) Limacia cockerelli (MacFarland, 1905). [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.
  5. Uribe R.A., Sepúlveda F., Goddard J.H.R. & Valdés Á. (2017). Integrative systematics of the genus Limacia O. F. Müller, 1781 (Gastropoda, Heterobranchia, Nudibranchia, Polyceridae) in the Eastern Pacific. Marine Biodiversity. DOI 10.1007/s12526-017-0676-5
  6. Behrens, D. (2006) Limacia cockerelli At Miller, M. (2015) The Slug Site.
  7. McDonald, G., (2015) Limacia cockerelli Intertidal Invertebrates of the Monterey Bay Area, California
  8. Caballer Gutiérrez, M., Almón Pazos, B., Pérez Dieste, J., (2015) The sea slug genus Limacia Müller, 1781 (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Heterobranchia) in Europe. Cahiers de Biologie Marine 57:35-42.

Further reading
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