Acanthodoris lutea

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Orange-peel doris
Acanthodoris lutea in california tide pools 2.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Order: Nudibranchia
Suborder: Doridina
Superfamily: Onchidoridoidea
Family: Onchidorididae
Genus: Acanthodoris
Species:
A. lutea
Binomial name
Acanthodoris lutea
MacFarland, 1925 [1]

Acanthodoris lutea, the orange-peel doris, is a species of nudibranch or sea slug, a shell-less marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusk in the family Onchidorididae. [2]

Contents

This species is the largest of the northeastern Pacific onchidorids. [3] It is a common species, and it is very noticeable because of its bright coloration, which is aposematic. The species name "lutea" is a Latin word which means an orange-yellow color. The generic name, "acantho" comes from the Greek word meaning spiny, and " doris " is the name of an ancient Greek sea nymph.

Description

Acanthodoris lutea Acanthodoris lutea.jpg
Acanthodoris lutea
Acanthodoris lutea Acanthodoris lutea 1.jpg
Acanthodoris lutea

This nudibranch grows to about 30 mm in length. It has a bright orange papillated dorsum covered with yellow specks. As is the case with many nudibranchs, this bright coloration is thought to be a reminder to would-be predators of its distasteful nature, an example of aposematic coloration. When handled, these slugs often smell of sandalwood. [3]

Distribution

This dorid nudibranch was described from Cayucos, San Luis Obispo County, California. It lives on the Pacific coast of North America from Cape Arago, Oregon to northern Baja California, Mexico. [4] Specimens from Duxbury Reef, Marin County, California and Puget Sound, Kitsap County, Washington have been sequenced for the 16S ribosomal RNA, Histone H3 and CO1 genes. [5] [6]

Habitat

The orange-peel doris lives in the intertidal and subtidal zones on rocky shores.

Life habits

Acanthodoris lutea in a California tide pool laying eggs Editing Image-Acanthodoris lutea laying eggs 2.jpg
Acanthodoris lutea in a California tide pool laying eggs

Acanthodoris lutea feeds on bryozoans of the genus Alcyonidium . It turns the chemicals taken from the bryozoan food into a noxious metabolite which is toxic to possible predators. [7] This species is aposematically colored, warning predators of this toxic deterrent. [8]

Related Research Articles

Onchidorididae Family of gastropods

Onchidorididae are a taxonomic family of sea slugs, dorid nudibranchs, marine gastropod molluscs in the superfamily Onchidoridoidea.

<i>Goniobranchus collingwoodi</i> Species of gastropod

Goniobranchus collingwoodi, common name Collingwood's chromodoris, is a species of very colourful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae.

<i>Rostanga pulchra</i> Species of gastropod

Rostanga pulchra is a species of sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusk in the family Discodorididae.

<i>Acanthodoris hudsoni</i> Species of gastropod

Acanthodoris hudsoni is a species of sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusc in the family Onchidorididae.

<i>Acanthodoris pilosa</i> Species of gastropod

Acanthodoris pilosa is a species of sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusc in the family Onchidorididae. It is found in shallow water in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, its range extending from Norway to France, and also both on the eastern coast of Canada and the United States, and the Pacific coast from the Aleutian Islands to Morro Bay, California.

<i>Acanthodoris</i> Genus of gastropods

Acanthodoris is a genus of sea slugs, dorid nudibranchs, shell-less marine gastropod mollusks in the family Onchidorididae. The genus is believed to have originated in the Atlantic Ocean in the Cretaceous period and spread to the Pacific Ocean. The relationships of Acanthodoris to the other genera in the family Onchidorididae were evaluated by molecular phylogeny in 2015.

<i>Acanthodoris nanaimoensis</i> Species of gastropod

Acanthodoris nanaimoensis, the Nanaimo horned dorid, is a species of dorid nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusc in the family Onchidorididae.

<i>Doriprismatica atromarginata</i> Species of gastropod

Doriprismatica atromarginata is a species of sea slug. It is a dorid nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusk in the family Chromodorididae.

<i>Limacia cockerelli</i> Species of sea slug

Limacia cockerelli is a species of sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusc in the family Polyceridae.

Acanthodoris planca is a species of dorid nudibranch. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Onchidorididae.

Phyllodesmium Genus of gastropods

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<i>Goniobranchus fidelis</i> Species of gastropod

Goniobranchus fidelis, also commonly known as the faithful sea slug, is a species of colourful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae.

<i>Onchidoris proxima</i> Species of gastropod

Onchidoris proxima is a species of sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusc in the family Onchidorididae. This species is found in the northeastern and northwestern parts of the Atlantic Ocean. It is also reported from the northeastern Pacific Ocean. Previously in the genus Adalaria this species was moved to Onchidoris as a result of a molecular phylogeny study.

<i>Acanthodoris brunnea</i> Species of gastropod

Acanthodoris brunnea, common name the brown horned dorid, is a species of sea slugs, a dorid nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusc in the family Onchidorididae.

<i>Acanthodoris atrogriseata</i> Species of gastropod

Acanthodoris atrogriseata is a species of sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusc in the family Onchidorididae.

<i>Acanthodoris rhodoceras</i> Species of gastropod

Acanthodoris rhodoceras is a species of sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusc in the family Onchidorididae.

Acanthodoris falklandica is a species of sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusc in the family Onchidorididae.

Acanthodoris pina is a species of sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusc in the family Onchidorididae.

Knoutsodonta brasiliensis is a species of sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusc in the family Onchidorididae.

Knoutsodonta jannae is a species of sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusc in the family Onchidorididae. It was frequently mis-identified as Onchidoris muricata. K. jannae is the type species of the genus Knoutsodonta.

References

  1. MacFarland, F. M. 1925. The Acanthodorididae of the California coast. Nautilus 39(2):49-65, pls. 2-3, page 60.
  2. Bouchet, P. (2015). Acanthodoris lutea MacFarland, 1925. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2016-01-09
  3. 1 2 Behrens D.W., 1980, Pacific Coast Nudibranchs: a guide to the opisthobranchs of the northeastern Pacific, Sea Challenger Books, Washington, 112pp., p. 48.
  4. Goddard, J., 2003 (January 12) Acanthodoris lutea MacFarland, 1925. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.
  5. Hallas, JM and Gosliner, TM. (2015) Family Matters: the first molecular phylogeny of the Onchidorididae (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Nudibranchia). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 88: 16-27.
  6. Hallas, J.M., Simison, W.B. & Gosliner, T.M. (2016) Dating and biogeographical patterns in the sea slug genus Acanthodoris Gray, 1850 (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Nudibranchia). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 97: 19-31.
  7. Morris, R.H., D.P. Abbott & E.C. Haderlie (1980) Intertidal Invertebrates of California. Stanford University Press: Stanford, California.
  8. Behrens, D. W. (2003) Acanthodoris lutea. In: Miller, M. (2015) The Slug Site.