Phestilla melanobrachia

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Phestilla melanobrachia
An orange individual of Phestilla melanobrachia, head end towards the left
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Heterobranchia
Order: Nudibranchia
Suborder: Cladobranchia
Superfamily: Fionoidea
Family: Trinchesiidae
Genus: Phestilla
Species:
P. melanobrachia
Binomial name
Phestilla melanobrachia
Bergh, 1874[1]
Synonyms
  • Tenellia melanobrachia (Bergh, 1874)
  • Phestilla melanobranchia [spelling error]

Phestilla melanobrachia is a species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Trinchesiidae.[2]

There are two known colour forms of Phestilla melanobrachia, black and orange.[3] Both of these feed on corals in the family Dendrophylliidae [4] and have been found to be genetically identical.[5]

Distribution

This species was described from the Philippines.[1] It has been reported from Hong Kong and Japan to Malaysia and East to Australia.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b Bergh, L. S. R. (1874). Neue Nacktschnecken der Südsee, malacologische Untersuchungen II. Journal des Museum Godeffroy 2(6):91-116, pls. 1-4.
  2. ^ Picton, B.; Gofas, S.; Bieler, R.; Bouchet, P. (2017). Phestilla melanobrachia Bergh, 1874. In: MolluscaBase (2017). Accessed on 2017-11-08.
  3. ^ a b Rudman, W.B., 2001 (July 10) Phestilla melanobrachia Bergh, 1874. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.
  4. ^ Rudman, W. B. (April 1981). "Further studies on the anatomy and ecology of opisthobranch molluscs feeding on the scleractinian coral Porites". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 71 (4): 373–412. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1981.tb01136.x.
  5. ^ Faucci, A.; Toonen, R.; Hadfield, M. (7 January 2007). "Host shift and speciation in a coral-feeding nudibranch". Proc Biol Sci. 274 (1606): 111–119. doi:10.1098/rspb.2006.3685. PMC 1679885.