''Chromodoris tenuis'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), 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 ...

of colourful

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 ...

, a 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 es ...

, a

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 mat ...

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. ...

. The scientific name of the species was first published in 1881 by Collingwood.

Distribution

This species was described from Fiery Cross Reef,

China Sea The China Seas consist of a series of marginal seas in the Western Pacific Ocean, around China. They are the major components signifying the transition from the continent of Asia to the Pacific Ocean.Pinxian Wang, Qianyu Li, Chun-Feng Li, ''Geol ...

Description

Described by Collingwood as follows:

Length inch. Body long and slender, very attenuated when in motion. Mantle entire, covering the whole body, excepting the posterior portion of the foot; broad and squarish in front, and narrower from behind the tentacles backwards, bluntly pointed posteriorly. Dorsal tentacles short and club-shaped, laminated, the suture anterior. Branchiae small, consisting of seven small and simple leaflets arranged in a circle, the anterior leaflet somewhat larger than the others, and the posterior pair smallest. Foot long and narrow, slightly tubular, projecting beyond the mantle posteriorly. Colour and general appearance. Mantle opaque white with a slight tinge of yellow, especially on the anterior portion, edged with chrome-yellow, slightly shading off interiorly. The whole mantle is covered with minute roundish spots of carmine, irregularly distributed, absent only from the most anterior portion, the spots varying in size from mere specks to roundish definite spots. Tentacles yellowish, but not so bright as the border of the mantle; the bases whitish. Branchiae pale yellow. Foot edged with chrome posteriorly, like the mantle. Under surface yellowish, foot and mantle with a faint edging of chrome-yellow, the carmine spots showing through at the sides of the head.

It has been suggested that this species is a synonym of ''

Chromodoris aspersa ''Chromodoris aspersa'' is a species of colourful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae. Distribution This chromodorid nudibranch was first described from Kawahe or Vincennes Island, Tuamotus ...

'' but in view of the discovery that ''C. aspersa'' is really a species complex it is possible that ''C. tenuis'' can be re-established as a separate species.Layton, 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

{{Taxonbar, from=Q13466431 Chromodorididae Gastropods described in 1881