''Murphydoris'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

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 ...

s, specifically

dorid ''Doridacea'' is a taxonomic grouping of dorid nudibranchs, shell-less marine gastropod mollusks.Bouchet P. & Rocroi J.-P. (Ed.); Frýda J., Hausdorf B., Ponder W., Valdes A. & Warén A. 2005''Classification and nomenclator of gastropod familie ...

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 ...

s, 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 ...

s 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 ...

Goniodorididae Goniodorididae are a taxonomic family of sea slugs, specifically dorid nudibranchs, marine gastropod molluscs in the order Opisthobranchia. Subfamilies * Anculinae * Goniodorinae Genera Genera in the family Goniodorididae include: * '' Anc ...

Genus description

''Murphydoris singaporensis'' Sigurdsson, 1991 is the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

of the genus ''Murphydoris''. The generic name ''Murphydoris'' was created to honor the zoologist and

ecologist Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere levels. Ecology overlaps with the closely re ...

D. H. Murphy, who is on the staff at the

National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national university, national Public university, public research university in Singapore. It was officially established in 1980 by the merging of the University of Singapore and Nanyang University ...

. The genus ''Murphydoris'' lacks peri-anal ctenidia (comb-like respiratory gills); its

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 are non-lamellate and its

radula The radula (; : radulae or radulas) is an anatomical structure used by mollusks for feeding, sometimes compared to a tongue. It is a minutely toothed, chitinous ribbon, which is typically used for scraping or cutting food before the food enters ...

formula is n x 1.1.0.1.1. The lateral teeth are unicuspid (= with a single tapering point) with 12 denticles and the marginal teeth are bicuspid.

Distribution

The type locality for ''Murphydoris singaporensis'' is

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...

s between

Kranji Kranji is a suburb in northwestern Singapore, bounded by Sungei Kadut to the north, Turf Club to the east, as well as Lim Chu Kang and the Western Water Catchment to the west. It is located about from the city centre and its name came from the ...

and

Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve is a nature reserve in the northwest area of Singapore. It is the first wetlands reserve to be gazetted in Singapore (2002), and its global importance as a stop-over point for migratory birds was recognised by the in ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

Species description

''Murphydoris singaporensis'' was firstly collected by Jon B. Sigurdsson, and was described as a new species in 1991. This is a small nudibranch with a body length of 5 mm and a body width of 2 mm. It was found along the coast of Singapore, between colonies of the bryozoan '' Sundanella sibogae'' (order Ctenostomatida). In this animal, the mantle is colorless and translucent, showing the colors of the internal organs. The surface of the mantle shows irregular dark reddish-brown blotches. Behind the

s there is a large

horse shoe A horseshoe is a product designed to protect a horse hoof from wear. Shoes are attached on the palmar surface (ground side) of the hooves, usually nailed through the insensitive hoof wall that is anatomically akin to the human toenail, altho ...

shaped spot. There are no mantle papillae in front of the non-lamellate, non-retractile rhinophores. The mantle ridge is situated at either side of the anus and is reduced to three pairs of bifid

tentacle In zoology, a tentacle is a flexible, mobile, and elongated organ present in some species of animals, most of them invertebrates. In animal anatomy, tentacles usually occur in one or more pairs. Anatomically, the tentacles of animals work main ...

s. Its penis is armed with many spines. It lays its spawn in loose white coils. When these nudibranchs respond to a threat, they adopt a defensive posture: they flatten their body allowing numerous

spicule Spicules are any of various small needle-like anatomical structures occurring in organisms Spicule may also refer to: *Spicule (sponge), small skeletal elements of sea sponges *Spicule (nematode), reproductive structures found in male nematodes ( ...

s to penetrate through the body wall, so that the nudibranch assumes the aspect of a

hedgehog A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are 17 species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introduction. The ...

, covered in spines. The numerous glands on the body wall also probably contribute to the effectiveness of this defensive posture.

Species

* '' Murphydoris adusta'' Paz-Sedano, Smirnoff, Candás, Gosliner & Pola, 2022 * '' Murphydoris cobbi'' Paz-Sedano, Smirnoff, Candás, Gosliner & Pola, 2022 * '' Murphydoris maracabranchia'' Paz-Sedano, Smirnoff, Candás, Gosliner & Pola, 2022 * '' Murphydoris puncticulata'' Paz-Sedano, Smirnoff, Candás, Gosliner & Pola, 2022 * '' Murphydoris singaporensis'' Sigurdsson, 1991 Other species have been tentatively placed in ''Murphydoris'', but have not yet been named and are

undescribed species In taxonomy, an undescribed taxon is a taxon (for example, a species) that has been discovered, but not yet formally described and named. The various Nomenclature Codes specify the requirements for a new taxon to be validly described and named. U ...

:McDonald, Gary R. (2009)
''Nudibranch Systematic Index, second edition''
UC Santa Cruz: Institute of Marine Sciences. Accessed 19 December 2009. * ''Murphydoris'' sp. 1 Marshall & Willan, 1999 - this is a small species (about 0.5 cm long) living amongst

algae Algae ( , ; : alga ) is an informal term for any organisms of a large and diverse group of photosynthesis, photosynthetic organisms that are not plants, and includes species from multiple distinct clades. Such organisms range from unicellular ...

along the coast of New South Wales, Australia. Its color is yellow-white with black spots and orange ridges. The rhinophores and gills have the same color but have white tips. * ''Murphydoris'' sp. “GBR Murphydoris” Coleman, 2001 * ''Murphydoris'' sp. 1 Cobb & Willan, 2006 * ''Murphydoris'' sp. “Black’s Murphydoris” Coleman, 2008 * ''Murphydoris'' sp. 1 Debelius & Kuiter, 2007

References

External links

Photo of Murphydoris sp. 1

Paz-Sedano, S., Smirnoff, D., Candás, M., Gosliner, T.M. & Pola, M. (2022). Rediscovering the overlooked genus Murphydoris (Nudibranchia: Goniodorididae): the first phylogeny and addition of four new species. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab122.
* {{Use dmy dates, date=May 2017 Goniodorididae