''Chromodoris elisabethina'' is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of very colourful

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 ...

, a 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 ...

, a 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 ...

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

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.� ...

Distribution

This species was described from Burias Island in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. It is found in the central area of the

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

region from

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

, the

and

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

to the southern part of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

.Bolland, R. (1999
''Chromodoris elisabethina''
Okinawa Slug Site.

Description

''Chromodoris elisabethina'' can reach a maximum size of length. The body is elongate with a foot which is distinct from the upper body by a skirt like mantle partially hiding the foot. The branched gills and the

rhinophore A rhinophore is one of a pair of Chemoreceptor, chemosensory club-shaped, rod-shaped or ear-like structures which are the most prominent part of the external head anatomy in sea slugs, Marine (ocean), marine gastropod opisthobranch mollusks suc ...

s are orange to yellow and can be withdrawn into pockets under the skin in case of danger. The main background colour is bluish, the intensity of the latter varying from blue-grey to intense blue. The blue dorsal side has a median black line which may be broken in some individuals and usually some short, finer parallel lines. These longitudinal lines are also present on the foot. The longitudinal discontinuous lines are distinctive of this species and allow the observer to differentiate it from other close species like ''

Chromodoris lochi ''Chromodoris lochi'', common name Loch's chromodoris, or Loch’s chromodoris slug, is a species of colourful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine (ocean), marine gastropod mollusk in the family Chromodorididae. Distribution This species is ...

'', '' Chromodoris willani'' and ''

Chromodoris annae ''Chromodoris annae'' also known as the Anna's magnificent sea slug is a species of sea slug, a very colourful nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae. Distribution This species of nudibranch is found in ...

''. The mantle edge and the foot are bordered with white and orange to yellow lines in which the width and the colour intensity can vary greatly from a specimen to another. The blue colour of the body and the external margin is outlined by a black line. ''Chromodoris elisabethina'' has been demonstrated to be a species complex by a recent molecular phylogeny study.Gosliner, T.M., Behrens, D.W. & Valdés, Á., 2018. ''Nudibranch and Sea Slug Identification - Indo-Pacific.'' New World Publications; 2nd Revised, Updated edition. 452 pp. , , p. 134Layton, K. K.; Gosliner, T. M.; Wilson, N. G. (2018). Flexible colour patterns obscure identification and mimicry in Indo-Pacific Chromodoris nudibranchs (Gastropoda: Chromodorididae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 124: 27-36.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q578974 Chromodorididae Gastropods described in 1877