Felimida sphoni

Felimida sphoni
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Order:	Nudibranchia
Family:	Chromodorididae
Genus:	Felimida
Species:	F. sphoni
Binomial name
Felimida sphoni Ev. Marcus, 1971 [1]
Synonyms [2]
Chromodoris sphoni(Ev. Marcus, 1971)

Felimida sphoni is a species of colorful sea slug and a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Chromodorididae. ^{[2] [3]} It was first described by Eveline Du Bois-Reymond Marcus in 1971, when she introduced it as a type species for her proposal of the genus Felimida. ^[4]

Description

F. sphoni has a red or dark purple body with orange spots, as well as four regions — two at the front of the body and two at the back — that are an off-white or light green color. In some specimens, the dark-colored body lightens to white, retaining the orange spots and stripes. Its rhinophores and gills are white with purple tips. The body reaches a length of about 35 to 40 mm. ^[4]

Distribution

This species occurs in the Pacific Ocean off the Galapagos Islands and in the Gulf of California, Western Mexico, as well as off the western coasts of Costa Rica, Panama, and Ecuador. ^[5]

Etymology

The name sphoni refers to the malacologist Gale Sphon (1934-1995) who collected the mollusk off the coast of Mexico while working for the Los Angeles County Museum. Sphon sent five specimens to São Paulo, where Eveline Du Bois-Reymond Marcus described and named the species in 1971. ^[4] In the same paper, Marcus described Doris tanya, a similar species that she named after Sphon's cat, Tanya. ^[6]

Other species named after Sphon include Neotiara sphoni , Olivella sphoni , and Felimida galexorum , the latter being a portmanteau of Sphon and underwater photographer Alex Kerstitch's names, both frequent collaborators of Marcus. ^[6]

References

1. Marcus Ev. (1971). "ON SOME EUTHYNEURAN GASTROPODS FROM THE INDIAN AND PACIFIC OCEANS". Proceedings of the Malacological Society of London 39(5): 355–369. page 355. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.mollus.a065115.
2. Bouchet, P.; Caballer, M. (2012). Felimida sphoni. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=558459 on 2012-05-10
3. Bouchet P. & Rocroi J.-P. (Ed.); Frýda J., Hausdorf B., Ponder W., Valdes A. & Warén A. 2005. Classification and nomenclator of gastropod families. Malacologia: International Journal of Malacology, 47(1-2). ConchBooks: Hackenheim, Germany. ISBN   3-925919-72-4. ISSN 0076-2997. 397 pp. http://www.vliz.be/Vmdcdata/imis2/ref.php?refid=78278
4. MARCUS, EVELINE DU B.-R. (1971-08-01). "ON SOME EUTHYNEURAN GASTROPODS FROM THE INDIAN AND PACIFIC OCEANS" . Journal of Molluscan Studies. 39 (5): 355–369. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.mollus.a065115. ISSN   0260-1230.
5. "Galapagos Species Database". CDF dataZone. Retrieved 2025-03-24.
6. "Gale G. Jr. Sphon | Shellers From the Past and Present". www.conchology.be. Retrieved 2025-03-24.

• Rudman W.B. (1984) The Chromodorididae (Opisthobranchia: Mollusca) of the Indo-West Pacific: a review of the genera. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 81 (2/3): 115-273. page(s): 130
• Debelius, H. & Kuiter, R.H. (2007) Nudibranchs of the world. ConchBooks, Frankfurt, 360 pp. ISBN   978-3-939767-06-0 page(s): 179
• Behrens D.W., Gosliner T.M. & Hermosillo A. (2009) A new species of dorid nudibranch (Mollusca) from the Revillagigedo Islands of the Mexican Pacific. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences ser. 4, 60(11): 423-429.