''Ardeadoris scottjohnsoni'' is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of
sea slug
Sea slug is a common name for some marine invertebrates with varying levels of resemblance to terrestrial slugs. Most creatures known as sea slugs are gastropods, i.e. they are sea snails (marine gastropod mollusks) that over evolutionary time ...
, a dorid
nudibranch
Nudibranchs () are a group of soft-bodied marine gastropod molluscs which shed their shells after their larval stage. They are noted for their often extraordinary colours and striking forms, and they have been given colourful nicknames to match, ...
, a shell-less
marine gastropod mollusk
Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is e ...
in the family
Chromodorididae
Chromodorididae, or chromodorids, are a taxonomic family of colourful, sea slugs; dorid nudibranchs, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Doridoidea. “Chromodorid nudibranchs are among the most gorgeously coloured of all animals.†...
.
[MolluscaBase (2018)]
''Ardeadoris scottjohnsoni'' Bertsch & Gosliner, 1989.
Accessed on 2019-01-23.
Distribution
This species was described from
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...
. It seems to be
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...
to the
Hawaiian Islands.
[
]
Description
This nudibranch has a white body with a yellow-edged mantle border. Its gills
A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...
have white bases with black tips and the rhinophores have transparent bases and black clubs, with a thin electric-blue vertical line.[Pittman, C. & Fiene, P., 2019]
''Ardeadoris scottjohnsoni''
Sea slugs of Hawaii, accessed 2019-01-23. It grows to in length.[Gosliner, T.M., Behrens, D.W. & Valdés, Ã., 2018. ''Nudibranch and Sea Slug Identification - Indo-Pacific.'' New World Publications; 2nd Revised, Updated edition. 452 pp. , , p. 171]
Ecology
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1911669
Chromodorididae
Gastropods described in 1989