Dendronotus dalli

Dendronotus dalli
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Order:	Nudibranchia
Suborder:	Cladobranchia
Family:	Dendronotidae
Genus:	Dendronotus
Species:	D. dalli
Binomial name
Dendronotus dalli Bergh, 1879 [1]

Dendronotus dalli is a species of sea slug, a dendronotid nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusc in the family Dendronotidae. ^[2]

Distribution

This species was described from the Bering Sea. ^[1] It can be found along the west coast of North America from the Bering Sea, Alaska to Puget Sound, Washington. ^{[3] [4]} Similar looking animals from the White Sea and Barents Sea, North Atlantic have been demonstrated to be a distinct species, Dendronotus niveus . ^[5]

Diet

Dendronotus dalli feeds on the hydroids Abietinaria rigida and Abietinaria amphora , family Sertulariidae. ^[6]

References

1. Bergh, L.S.R. (1879) On the nudibranchiate gasteropod Mollusca of the North Pacific Ocean, with special reference to those of Alaska, part 1. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, 31: 71-132, Pls.1-8, page 94.
2. Bouchet, P. (2015). Dendronotus dalli. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2016-01-28.
3. Rudman, W.B., 2000 (October 25) Dendronotus dalli Bergh 1879. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.
4. Behrens, D. W., & Hermosillo, A. (2005) Eastern Pacific nudibranchs, a guide to the opisthobranchs from Alaska to Central America. vi + 137 pp., 314 photos. Sea Challengers, Monterey, California, page 93.
5. Ekimova, I.; Korshunova, T.; Schepetov, D.; Neretina, T.; Sanamyan, N.; Martynov, A. (2015). Integrative systematics of northern and Arctic nudibranchs of the genus Dendronotus (Mollusca, Gastropoda), with descriptions of three new species. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 173(4): 841-886.
6. Robilliard, G.A. (1970). The systematics and some aspects of the ecology of the genus Dendronotus. The Veliger, 12: 433–479, page 452..