| Geitodoris planata | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Dorsal view of Geitodoris cf. planata | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Order: | Nudibranchia |
| Family: | Discodorididae |
| Genus: | Geitodoris |
| Species: | G. planata |
| Binomial name | |
| Geitodoris planata | |
| Synonyms [2] | |
Doris planata Alder & Hancock, 1846 Contents | |
Geitodoris planata is a species of sea slug or dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Discodorididae.
It was originally described from Europe. Caribbean populations are morphologically similar but almost certainly distinct. [5] Alvim & Pimenta (2013) [6] regarded Caribbean animals as Geitodoris pusae (Er. Marcus, 1955), but no molecular studies have been conducted to compare animals from both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. [5] Further research is necessary to clarify the status of this species. [5]
Distribution of Geitodoris planata includes Mediterranean Sea, North Atlantic Ocean, North Sea, Western Atlantic: New Jersey, St. Lucia and Panama. [5]
The type locality is "Lamlash Bay", Isle of Arran, Scotland. [1]
The body is oval. [5] Mantle is rigid. [5] Dorsum is covered by rounded, stalked tubercles. [5] Background color is grayish-brown with some dark brown irregular patches. [5] The color fades and becomes more translucent towards the mantle margin. [5] Larger tubercles surrounded with opaque white pigment. [5] Rhinophores and gill are usually the same color as the dorsum with white tips. [5] The maximum recorded body length is 65 mm. [7] [5]
Minimum recorded depth is 91 m. [7] Maximum recorded depth is 267 m. [7] But this species apparently live also in more shallow water. [5] It was found in coral rubble in a predominately sea grass habitat in Panama. [5]
Its prey include sponges Hemimycale columella and Hymeniacidon perlevis . [8]
This article incorporates Creative Commons (CC-BY-4.0) text from the reference [5]