Source: Wikipedia
| Diaulula sandiegensis | |
|---|---|
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| A pair of Diaulula sandiegensis mating | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Subclass: | Heterobranchia |
| Order: | Nudibranchia |
| Suborder: | Doridina |
| Superfamily: | Doridoidea |
| Family: | Discodorididae |
| Genus: | Diaulula |
| Species: | D. sandiegensis
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| Binomial name | |
| Diaulula sandiegensis | |
Diaulula sandiegensis is a species of sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusc in the family Discodorididae.[2]
The specific epithet sandiegensis means: "of San Diego", the Southern California city.
Distribution[edit]
This dorid nudibranch occurs in the eastern Pacific, from Barkley Sound, British Columbia to Baja California, Mexico. It has been confused with Diaulula boreopacifica which has a more northerly range and also occurs in Japan and Russia.[3]
Description[edit]
This nudibranch grows to about 100 mm (4") in length. The background color can be white or any shade of yellow to a yellowish brown, and it has characteristic markings consisting of a few brown rings or irregular spots.[4][5] Specimens with more numerous spots are Diaulula odonoghuei.[6][3]
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Diaulula sandiegensis -
In a central California tidepool
Life habits[edit]
This species feeds on sponges.
References[edit]
- ^ Cooper, J.G. (1862). Some new genera and species of Californian mollusca. Proceedings of the Californian Academy of Natural Sciences, 2: 202-207
- ^ Rosenberg, G.; Bouchet, P. (2015). Diaulula sandiegensis (J. G. Cooper, 1863). In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2016-12-04.
- ^ a b Lindsay, T., Kelly, J., Chichvarkhin, A., Craig, S., Kajihara, H., Mackie, J & Valdés, A. (2016). Changing spots: pseudocryptic speciation in the North Pacific dorid nudibranch Diaulula sandiegensis (Cooper, 1862) (Gastropoda: Heterobranchia). Journal of Molluscan Studies doi:10.1093/mollus/eyw026
- ^ Behrens D. W., (1980). Pacific Coast Nudibranchs: a guide to the opisthobranchs of the northeastern Pacific, Sea Challenger Books, Washington
- ^ Rudman, W.B., 2000 (July 4) Diaulula sandiegensis (Cooper, 1862). [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.
- ^ Kocian, J., 2006 (Apr 21) Diaulula sandiegensis from Puget Sound. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.