''Scyllaea'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
of
nudibranchs. They are
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
Military
* ...
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 ...
s in the family
Scyllaeidae
Scyllaeidae is a taxonomic family of sea slugs, nudibranchs, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Dendronotoidea.Bouchet, P. (2012). Scyllaeidae. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.p ...
.
[Gofas, S. (2012). Scyllaea Linnaeus, 1758. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=138468 on 2012-07-30]
The slugs live on floating algae like ''
Sargassum
''Sargassum'' is a genus of brown (class Phaeophyceae) macroalgae (seaweed) in the order Fucales. Numerous species are distributed throughout the temperate and tropical oceans of the world, where they generally inhabit shallow water and coral re ...
'', where they have the same color and shape as the alga and can hardly be seen by predators. They feed on
hydrozoa growing on the alga.
[Dave Behrens]
Scyllaea pelagica Linnaeus, 1758
at Slugsite.us, retrieved on 2012-10-31
Species
Species in the genus ''Scyllaea'' include
* ''
Scyllaea fulva''
Quoy & Gaimard, 1824
* ''
Scyllaea pelagica''
Linnaeus, 1758
;Species brought into synonymy:
* ''Scyllaea dracaena''
Kelaart, 1858: synonym of ''Scyllaea fulva''
Quoy & Gaimard, 1824
* ''Scyllaea edwardsii''
A. E. Verrill, 1878: synonym of ''Scyllaea pelagica''
Linnaeus, 1758
* ''Scyllaea grayae''
A. Adams & Reeve, 1850: synonym of ''Scyllaea pelagica''
Linnaeus, 1758
* ''Scyllaea quoyi''
Gray, 1850: synonym of ''Scyllaea fulva''
Quoy & Gaimard, 1824
;Nomina dubia
* ''Scyllaea ghomfodensis''
Forskål, 1775
* ''Scyllaea lamyi''
Vayssière, 1917
References
* Gofas, S.; Le Renard, J.; Bouchet, P. (2001). Mollusca, in: Costello, M.J. et al. (Ed.) (2001). ''European register of marine species: a check-list of the marine species in Europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification''. Collection Patrimoines Naturels, 50: pp. 180–213
*
External links
Slugsite.us - Scyllaea pelagica Linnaeus, 1758
Scyllaeidae
{{Heterobranchia-stub