''Diaulula phoca'' 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 ...

or 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 Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Discodorididae Discodorididae is a Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic family (biology), family of sea slugs, specifically dorid nudibranchs, marine (ocean), marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Doridoidea.Bouchet, P. (2011). Discodorididae. Accessed through: ...

.Rosenberg, G. (2010). Diaulula phoca (Ev. Marcus & Er. Marcus, 1967). In: Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S.; Rosenberg, G. (2010) World Marine Mollusca database. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=532733 on 2012-03-01

Taxonomy

This species was originally described under the name ''Discodoris phoca'' by

Eveline Du Bois-Reymond Marcus Eveline du Bois-Reymond Marcus (6 October 1901 – 31 January 1990) was a German zoology, zoologist and drawing, drawer. Life Eveline Du Bois-Reymond was the youngest daughter of Rene and Frieda du Bois-Reymond, as well as a granddaughter of phys ...

and

Ernst Gustav Gotthelf Marcus Ernst Gustav Gotthelf Marcus (8 June 1893 – 30 June 1968) was a German zoologist, occupant of the chair of zoology at the University of São Paulo from 1936 to 1963, and co-founder of the Oceanographic Institute of the University of São Paulo ...

in 1967. It is considered a member of ''

Diaulula ''Diaulula'' is a genus of sea slugs, dorid nudibranchs, shell-less marine gastropod molluscs in the family Discodorididae. Species Species in the genus ''Diaulula'' include: * '' Diaulula alba'' (K. White, 1952) * '' Diaulula aurila'' (Ev. ...

'' because of the presence of caryophyllidia.

Distribution

Distribution of ''Diaulula phoca'' includes Florida, Honduras, Costa Rica, Brazil and Panama. The type locality is west side of the

Key Biscayne Key Biscayne () is an island located in Miami-Dade County, Florida, located between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay. It is the southernmost of the barrier islands along the Atlantic coast of Florida, and lies south of Miami Beach and sout ...

island, Florida. The

holotype A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...

is stored in the

National Museum of Natural History The National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. With 4.4 ...

, Smithsonian Institution.

Description

The body is oval. Mantle is rigid. Dorsum is covered with small caryophyllidia. Body,

rhinophores A rhinophore is one of a pair of chemosensory club-shaped, rod-shaped or ear-like structures which are the most prominent part of the external head anatomy in sea slugs, marine gastropod opisthobranch mollusks such as the nudibranchs, sea hare ...

, and gill are dark purplish brown with numerous small opaque white dots. It is up to 55 mm long.

Ecology

It feeds on

sponges Sponges or sea sponges are primarily marine invertebrates of the animal phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), a basal clade and a sister taxon of the diploblasts. They are sessile filter feeders that are bound to the seabed, and ar ...

References

This article incorporates Creative Commons (CC-BY-4.0) text from the referenceGoodheart J. A., Ellingson R. A., Vital X. G., Galvão Filho H. C., McCarthy J. B., Medrano S. M., Bhave V. J., García-Méndez K., Jiménez L. M., López G. & Hoover C. A. (2016). "Identification guide to the heterobranch sea slugs (Mollusca: Gastropoda) from Bocas del Toro, Panama". ''Marine Biodiversity Records'' 9(1): 56. {{Taxonbar, from=Q5272171 Discodorididae Gastropods described in 1967 Taxa named by Eveline Du Bois-Reymond Marcus Taxa named by Ernst Marcus (zoologist)