''Edmundsella vansyoci'' 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 ...

, an aeolid

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

Flabellinidae Flabellinidae is a taxonomic family of brightly coloured sea slugs, specifically nudibranchs, marine gastropod mollusks. This family has no subfamilies. Genera and species Genera within the family Flabellinidae include:Bouchet, P. (2011)Flabel ...

.Bouchet, P. (2015)
''Flabellina vansyoci'' Gosliner, 1994.
In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2015-10-27

Distribution

This species is reported from the Pacific coast of

central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

from Punta Eugenia,

Baja California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...

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 ...

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

.Rudman, W.B., 2005 (November 17
''Flabellina vansyoci'' Gosliner, 1994.
n/nowiki> Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.

Description

The body colour of ''Edmundsella vansyoci'' varies from pink to reddish pink. There are opaque white spots on the outer surfaces of the

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

. The

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 oral tentacles are tinged with purple and have translucent tips. Externally ''Edmundsella vansyoci'' and '' Orienthella fogata'' can be separated by the location of the anus, which is in the middle of the inter-hepatic space in ''E. vansyoci'' and posterior, under the first or second post-hepatic ceras in ''O. fogata''. These two species can also be distinguished by their

cnidosac A cnidosac is an anatomical feature that is found in the group of sea slugs known as aeolid nudibranchs, a clade of marine (ocean), marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusk, molluscs. A cnidosac contains cnidocytes, stinging cells that are also known ...

s, which are translucent white in ''O. fogata'' and pink in ''E. vansyoci''.Millen S. & Hermosillo A. (2007) The genus ''Flabellina'' Voight, 1834 (Mollusca: Opisthobranchia) from Bahia de Banderas (Pacific coast of Mexico) with ecological observations, the description of a new species, and the redescription of ''Flabellina cynara''. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences ser.4, 58(26): 543-559. page(s): 554 The maximum length of this species is 30 mm. The description of ''Orienthella fogata'' includes a table comparing similar species from Mexico.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5456569 Flabellinidae Gastropods described in 1994