''Cuthonella elioti'' 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 ...

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 ...

, an aeolid

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 ...

, a

marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

gastropod mollusc in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Cuthonellidae Cuthonellidae is a family of sea slugs, aeolid nudibranchs, marine gastropod molluscs in the superfamily Fionoidea Fionoidea is a superfamily of small sea slugs, aeolid nudibranchs. They are gastropod mollusks within the infraorder Clado ...

. It is a replacement name for ''Cuthonella antarctica'' Eliot, 1907 (non '' Aeolis antarctica'' Pfeffer in Martens & Pfeffer, 1886).

Distribution

This species was described from

Winter Quarters Bay Winter Quarters Bay is a small cove of McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, located due south of New Zealand at 77°50'S. The harbor is the southernmost port in the Southern Ocean and features a floating ice pier for summer cargo operations. The bay is ap ...

Ross Sea The Ross Sea is a deep bay of the Southern Ocean in Antarctica, between Victoria Land and Marie Byrd Land and within the Ross Embayment, and is the southernmost sea on Earth. It derives its name from the British explorer James Clark Ross who vi ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest co ...

. It has been found on several occasions in

McMurdo Sound McMurdo Sound is a sound in Antarctica. It is the southernmost navigable body of water in the world, and is about from the South Pole. Captain James Clark Ross discovered the sound in February 1841, and named it after Lt. Archibald McMurdo of ...

, Ross Sea, Antarctica .Valdés Á., Moran A.L. & Woods H.A. (2012). Revision of several poorly known Antarctic aeolid nudibranch species (Mollusca: Gastropoda), with the description of a new species. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 92(5): 1161-1174.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q13505895 Cuthonellidae Gastropods described in 1944