''Tambja'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of colorful

sea slug Sea slug is a common name for some Marine biology, marine invertebrates with varying levels of resemblance to terrestrial Slug, slugs. Most creatures known as sea slugs are gastropods, i.e. they are Sea snail, sea snails (marine gastropod moll ...

s, dorid

nudibranch Nudibranchs () are a group of soft-bodied marine gastropod molluscs, belonging to the order Nudibranchia, that shed their shells after their larval stage. They are noted for their often extraordinary colours and striking forms, and they have b ...

s, shell-less marine

gastropod Gastropods (), commonly known as slugs and snails, belong to a large Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, freshwater, and fro ...

mollusk Mollusca is a phylum of protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum after Arthropoda. The ...

s in the family

Polyceridae The Polyceridae are a taxonomic family of sea slugs, dorid nudibranchs, marine gastropod mollusks within the superfamily Polyceroidea. Taxonomy The family Polyceridae is classified within the clade Doridacea, itself belonging to the clade Eu ...

.MolluscaBase (2018)
''Tambja'' Burn, 1962.
Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2018-08-20.

Biology

These nudibranchs feed on

bryozoa Bryozoa (also known as the Polyzoa, Ectoprocta or commonly as moss animals) are a phylum of simple, aquatic animal, aquatic invertebrate animals, nearly all living in sedentary Colony (biology), colonies. Typically about long, they have a spe ...

ns. They have a

radula The radula (; : radulae or radulas) is an anatomical structure used by mollusks for feeding, sometimes compared to a tongue. It is a minutely toothed, chitinous ribbon, which is typically used for scraping or cutting food before the food enters ...

which bears a rachidian tooth whose upper margin is either smooth or notched; the lateral tooth has two crowns, and the other teeth are so flat as to resemble plates.

Species

Species in the genus ''Tambja'' include: * '' Tambja abdere'' Farmer, 1978 - synonym: ''Tambja fusca'' * '' Tambja affinis'' (Eliot, 1904) * '' Tambja amitina'' (

Bergh Bergh is a former municipality in the Dutch province of Gelderland. The municipality included the villages of 's-Heerenberg, Zeddam, and Stokkum. In 2005, it merged with Didam to form the new municipality of Montferland Montferland () i ...

, 1905) nomen dubium * '' Tambja anayana'' Ortea, 1989 * '' Tambja blacki'' Pola, Cervera & Gosliner, 2006 * '' Tambja brasiliensis'' Pola, Padula, Gosliner & Cervera, 2014 * '' Tambja caeruleocirrus'' Willan & Chang, 2017 * '' Tambja capensis'' (

, 1907) * '' Tambja ceutae'' Garcia-Gomez & Ortea, 1988 * '' Tambja crioula'' Pola, Padula, Gosliner & Cervera, 2014 * '' Tambja dracomus'' Willan & Chang, 2017 * '' Tambja diaphana'' (

, 1877) - nomen dubium * '' Tambja eliora'' (Er. Marcus & Ev. Marcus, 1967) * '' Tambja fantasmalis'' Ortea & García-Gómez, 1986 * '' Tambja gabrielae'' Pola, Cervera, & Gosliner, 2005 * '' Tambja gratiosa'' (

, 1890) - synonym: ''Roboastra gratiosa'' (Bergh, 1890) * '' Tambja haidari'' Pola, Cervera, & Gosliner, 2006 * '' Tambja kava'' Pola, Padula, Gosliner & Cervera, 2014 * '' Tambja marbellensis'' (Schick & Cervera, 1998) * '' Tambja morosa'' (

, 1877) - synonym: ''Tambja kushimotoensis'' Baba, 1987 * '' Tambja mullineri'' Farmer, 1978 * '' Tambja olivaria'' Yonow, 1994 * '' Tambja pulcherrima'' Willan & Chang, 2017 * '' Tambja sagamiana'' ( Baba, 1955) * '' Tambja simplex'' Ortea & Moro, 1999 * '' Tambja stegosauriformis'' Pola, Cervera, & Gosliner, 2005 * ''

Tambja tenuilineata ''Tambja tenuilineata'' is a species of colourful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Polyceridae The Polyceridae are a taxonomic family of sea slugs, dorid nudibranchs, marine gastropod mollusks within the ...

'' Miller & Haagh, 2005 * '' Tambja verconis'' (Basedow & Hedley, 1905) - type species * '' Tambja victoriae'' Pola, Cervera, & Gosliner, 2005 * '' Tambja zulu'' Pola, Cervera, & Gosliner, 2005 The nominal species ''Tambja amakusana'' Baba, 1987, ''T. mediterranea'' Domínguez, Pola & Ramón, 2015, and ''T. oliva'' Meyer, 1977 have been placed in the new genus ''

Martadoris ''Martadoris'' is a genus of colorful sea slugs, dorid nudibranchs, shell-less marine gastropod mollusks in the family Polyceridae The Polyceridae are a taxonomic family of sea slugs, dorid nudibranchs, marine gastropod mollusks within the s ...

''.Willan R.C. & Chang Y.-W. en-Wei (2017). Description of three new species of Tambja (Gastropoda, Nudibranchia, Polyceridae) from the western Pacific Ocean reveals morphological characters with taxonomic and phylogenetic significance for traditional Polyceridae and related 'phaneorobranch' nudibranchs. Basteria. 81(1-3): 1-23.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3980583 Polyceridae