''Dendronotus robilliardi'' 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 ...

s, a dendronotid

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 shell-less

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

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). Descri ...

.Bouchet, P. (2015)
''Dendronotus albus''.
In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2016-01-26.

Taxonomic history

This species was correctly recognised as separate from ''

Dendronotus albus ''Dendronotus albus'' is a species of sea slug, a dendronotid nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusc in the family Dendronotidae.Bouchet, P. (2015)''Dendronotus albus''.In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Mar ...

'' by Robilliard in 1960. However he identified it as ''D. albus'' and described the true ''D. albus'' as '' Dendronotus diversicolor''.

Distribution

This marine animal can be found in the NE

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

from

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

and in the NW Pacific from

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

and

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republi ...

Description

This species grows to a maximum length of 40 mm. It is distinguished from ''

'' by having more than four pairs of

cerata :''The tortrix moth genus ''Cerata'' is considered a junior synonym of ''Cydia. Cerata, singular ceras, are anatomical structures found externally in nudibranch sea slugs, especially in aeolid nudibranchs, marine opisthobranch gastropod mollus ...

, (typically 5 to 7), whilst ''D . albus'' is a bigger animal but has no more than four or five pairs.Robilliard, G.A. (1970
''The systematics and some aspects of the ecology of the genus ''Dendronotus'' (Gastropoda: Nudibranchia).''

The Veliger ''The Veliger'' was a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering malacology. The journal was established in 1958 and published its last issue in September, 2014. It was published by the California Malacozoological Society and Northern California ...

, 12(4): 433–479. The body and cerata are translucent white with opaque white and orange-yellow tips to the cerata, although in some cases the orange-yellow is absent.Rudman, W.B., 2001 (August 12
''Dendronotus albus'' Macfarland, 1966.
n/nowiki> Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.

Diet

This species feeds preferentially on the hydroid ''

Thuiaria argentea The air fern (''Sertularia argentea'') is a species of marine animal in the family Sertulariidae. It is also known as the sea fir and Neptune plant. These so-called "ferns" are dead and dried colonies of hydrozoans, colonies of marine hydroi ...

'' in the family

Sertulariidae Sertulariidae is a family of hydrozoans. Genera According to the World Register of Marine Species, the following genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as ...

. ''Dendronotus albus'' is said to prefer '' Abietinaria greenei'', '' Hydrallmania distans'' and ''

Abietinaria amphora ''Abietinaria inconstans'' is a species of cnidarian Cnidaria () is a phylum under kingdom Animalia containing over 11,000 species of aquatic animals found both in freshwater and marine environments, predominantly the latter. Their disting ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dendronotus Robilliardi Dendronotidae Gastropods described in 2016