''Doriopsilla albopunctata'', the white-spotted sea goddess, 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), ...

of 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 colorful

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 ...

, in the family

Dendrodorididae Dendrodorididae is a taxonomic family of sea slugs, dorid nudibranchs, marine gastropod molluscs in the Superfamily Phyllidioidea. Genera A maximum-parsimony analysis of the nucleotide sequence of the 16S mtDNA gene, performed in 2003, has ...

. It is native to the

Pacific Coast Pacific coast may be used to reference any coastline that borders the Pacific Ocean. Geography Americas North America Countries on the western side of North America have a Pacific coast as their western or south-western border. One of th ...

of North America, from

Mendocino County Mendocino County (; ''Mendocino'', Spanish language, Spanish for "of Antonio de Mendoza, Mendoza") is a County (United States), county located on the North Coast (California), North Coast of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United S ...

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 ...

south, possibly to Baja California Peninsula, Mexico. There are five other species that are quite similar to ''Doriopsilla albopunctata'' and can be confused with it: '' Doriopsilla bertschi'' (Hoover, Lindsay, Goddard & Valdés, 2015), '' Doriopsilla davebehrensi'' (Hoover, Lindsay, Goddard & Valdés, 2015), '' Doriopsilla fulva'' (MacFarland, 1905), '' Doriopsilla gemela'' (Gosliner, Schaefer & Millen, 1999), and '' Baptodoris mimetica'' ( Gosliner, 1991).Hoover C., Lindsay T., Goddard J.H.R. & Valdés A. (2015)
''Seeing double: pseudocryptic diversity in the ''Doriopsilla albopunctata–Doriopsilla gemela'' species complex of the north-eastern Pacific.''
Zoologica Scripta. 44: 612-631.

Distribution

This species is found from Mendocino to

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

and possibly on the Pacific coast of Baja California Peninsula,

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Description

This nudibranch can grow as large as 60 mm ( inches). It can be yellow or orange or brown, but always with very small opaque white dots. The dots are on the tips of raised tubercles and in circles around the tubercles. The

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 ...

s on the head end are yellow or orange-yellow in color, and the gills (the rosette at the back) are white or pale yellow.

Diet

The food of ''Doriopsilla albopunctata'' needs to be clarified in the light of newly discovered species and reports may be of related species. It has been reported to eat an orange sponge at

Bahía de los Ángeles is a coastal bay on the Gulf of California, located along the eastern shore of the Baja California Peninsula in the state of Baja California, Mexico. The town of the same name is located at the east end of Federal Highway 12 about 42 miles (68& ...

but this is possibly a reference to ''Doriopsilla bertschi''.Bertsch, H., (2000
''Doriopsilla albopunctata''
In: Miller, M. The Slug Site, accessed 2016-12-14. It has also been reported to eat '' Cliona californiana'', the yellow boring sponge.

Distribution

Description

Diet

References

Further reading