''Doridunculus unicus'' is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of 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 the appropriate s ...
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 t ...
, a dorid
nudibranch, 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
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* ...
gastropod
The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda ().
This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. T ...
mollusc
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 esti ...
in the family
Onchidorididae
Onchidorididae are a taxonomic family of sea slugs, dorid nudibranchs, marine gastropod molluscs in the superfamily Onchidoridoidea.Thompson, T. E., & Brown, G.H., 1984Biology of opisthobranch Molluscs.Vol. 2. Ray Society; London. 1-229, p.49
G ...
.
Discovery
''Doridunculus unicus'' was first discovered in deep-sea basin of the Sea of Japan (depth 3000-3620 m). The absence of notal crests, asymmetricalnotal lobes, and characteristics of the radula anatomy distinguish ''Doridunculus unicus'' from the two other known specimens of the species. The peculiar feeding ecology of the new species was re-discovered. ''D. unicus'' feeds on the hydroids ''Egmundella'' sp. (Campanulinidae) and dwells in large aggregations of their colonies (numerous broken fragments of ''Egmundella'' sp. were found in the oesophagus, stomach and intestine of the new species).
Unicus
(Latin) refers to three distinct characteristics: the history of discovery and description, asymmetrical notal lobes, and living with and feeding on hydroid.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q13595919
Akiodorididae