Okenia nakamotoensis

Okenia nakamotoensis is a species of sea slug, specifically a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Goniodorididae.

Okenia nakamotoensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Mollusca
Class:
Gastropoda
(unranked):
clade Heterobranchia
clade Euthyneura
clade Nudipleura
clade Nudibranchia
clade Euctenidiacea
clade Doridacea
Superfamily:
Onchidoridoidea
Family:
Goniodorididae
Genus:
Okenia
Species:
O. nakamotoensis
Binomial name
Okenia nakamotoensis
Hamatani , 2001[1]

Distribution

This species was described from Japan. It is known from Bohol and Cebu Islands, Philippines, Indonesia and the Marshall Islands. It has also been reported from Mabul, Malaysia and Mayotte, Indian Ocean.[2]

Description

This Okenia has a narrow, almost cylindrical, body and long lateral papillae. There is one mid-dorsal papilla in front of the gills. The body is bright pink and just the bases of the mantle processes are white. In animals from the Philippines and the Marshall Islands the white pigment extends onto the body as a broken line joining the bases of the papillae and as spots and streaks.

Ecology

The diet of this species is the bryozoan Tropidozoum cellariforme Harmer, 1957. This sea slug is very similar to Okenia kondoi and can be found with that species on the same food. There are two other species from northern Australia, which are also similar to this species, and those are Okenia stellata and Okenia hallucigenia.

References
  1. Hamatani, I. (2001) Two new species of Goniodorididae (Opisthobranchia; Nudibranchia) with a new genus from Kuroshima Island, Okinawa, Japan. Venus, 60(3): 151-156.
  2. Rudman, W.B., 2004 (December 21) Okenia nakamotoensis (Hamatani, 2001). [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.