''Dendronotus patricki'' 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), ...

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 dendronotid

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 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 ...

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

Dendronotidae Dendronotidae is a family of sea slugs, nudibranchs, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Dendronotoidea. This family is within the clade Cladobranchia (according to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005). Descrip ...

.Bouchet, P. (2015)
''Dendronotus patricki''.
In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2016-02-10.

Distribution

This species was described from a whalefall, a dead whale which was experimentally placed in

Monterey Canyon Monterey Canyon, or Monterey Submarine Canyon, is a submarine canyon in Monterey Bay, California with steep canyon walls measuring a full in height from bottom to top, which height/depth rivals the depth of the Grand Canyon itself. It is the la ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

at a depth of 1820 m (). It was also seen on video from an ROV at another whalefall in Santa Cruz Basin, at a depth of 1676 m.

Description

''Dendronotus patricki'' is a translucent species of ''Dendronotus'' with no surface markings and a reddish-brown hue to the body. It grows to at least 25 mm in length. There is a small amount of opaque white pigment at the tips of the dorsal appendages, velar appendages and

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 ...

sheath papillae.

Habitat

''Dendronotus patricki'' was found crawling on a muddy seabed. Its stomach contents included structures thought to be

nematocyst A cnidocyte (also known as a cnidoblast) is a type of cell containing a large secretory organelle called a ''cnidocyst'', that can deliver a sting to other organisms as a way to capture prey and defend against predators. A cnidocyte explosively ...

s. It is possible that it feeds on burrowing cerianthid anemones as does ''

Dendronotus iris ''Dendronotus iris'', also known as the rainbow nudibranch, is a species of sea slug, a dendronotid nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusc in the family Dendronotidae.Bouchet P. & Rocroi J.-P. (Ed.); Frýda J., Hausdorf B., Ponder W ...

''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q13585027 Dendronotidae Gastropods described in 2011