Doto columbiana

Doto columbiana is a species of sea slug, a Dendronotid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Dotidae.

Doto columbiana
Doto columbiana from Pillar Point, California
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Mollusca
Class:
Gastropoda
(unranked):
clade Heterobranchia
clade Euthyneura
clade Nudipleura
clade Nudibranchia
clade Dexiarchia
clade Cladobranchia
clade Dendronotida
Superfamily:
Tritonioidea
Family:
Dotidae
Genus:
Doto
Species:
D. columbiana
Binomial name
Doto columbiana

Distribution

This species was first described from specimens dredged at 22–33 m depth between Brandon Island and the head of Departure Bay and two more from Nanoose Bay, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. It has been reported from the Pacific coast of North America from British Columbia to Santa Barbara, California.

Description

This species of Doto has a cream coloured body with grey mottled markings on the back and sides. This pigment can vary from pale grey-brown to almost black in some individuals. The dark pigment forms rings around the bases of the cerata in well-marked specimens.[2]

Ecology

Doto columbiana feeds on the hydroid Aglaophenia sp., family Aglaopheniidae.[3]

References
  1. O'Donoghue, C. H., (1921). Nudibranchiate Mollusca from the Vancouver Island region. Transactions Royal Canadian Institute, 13: 147-209.
  2. Goddard, J.H.R., 2006 (February 7) Doto columbiana O'Donoghue, 1921. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.
  3. McDonald, G., (2015). Intertidal Invertebrates of the Monterey Bay Area, California.
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