Hermissenda opalescens

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Hermissenda opalescens
Opalescent nudibranch hermissenda crassicornis california point joe 2013.jpg
Closeup of Hermissenda opalescens off Monterey, California
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Order: Nudibranchia
Suborder: Cladobranchia
Family: Myrrhinidae
Genus: Hermissenda
Species:
H. opalescens
Binomial name
Hermissenda opalescens
Cooper, 1863 [1]

Hermissenda opalescens is a species of brightly coloured sea slug or nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Facelinidae. [2]

Contents

This species is commonly known as the "opalescent sea slug."

Distribution

This nudibranch was described from San Diego, California, United States. [1] It has been reported from Northern California, to Punta Eugenia, Mexico. Its distribution overlaps with Hermissenda crassicornis in Northern California and this latter species is found north to Alaska. [2] These two species were routinely treated as a single species during the last 90 years. [3]

The species has also been observed in Bahia de los Angeles, Gulf of California.

Habitat

Five individuals of Hermissenda opalescens in a Central California tidepool Nudibranches and sea urchin.jpg
Five individuals of Hermissenda opalescens in a Central California tidepool

This sea slug is found in various habitats, including the intertidal zone of rocky shores, but also in bays and estuaries.

Description

The species grows to be about 50 mm, or about 2 inches.

This slug has been treated as a model organism and used in studies into classical conditioning, memory consolidation and associative learning, the structure of neural circuits and neural physiology. It has also been used to investigate ultrastructure and anatomy, larval and reproductive ecology, behavioral ecology and pharmacology and toxicology including studies into Beta thymosins. Unfortunately these studies did not differentiate between the three species of Hermissenda. [2]

Life habits

This nudibranch feeds on hydroids and other marine organisms such as ascidians and sea anemones. It sometimes attacks other nudibranchs, and will eat smaller specimens of its own species. It is host to the ectoparasites Halicyclops thysanotus Wilson C.B., 1935 and Hemicyclops thysanotus Wilson C.B., 1935.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aplysiidae</span> Family of gastropods

Aplysiidae is the only family in the superfamily Aplysioidea, within the clade Anaspidea. These animals are commonly called sea hares because, unlike most sea slugs, they are often quite large, and when they are underwater, their rounded body shape and the long rhinophores on their heads mean that their overall shape resembles that of a sitting rabbit or hare. Sea hares are however sea snails with shells reduced to a small plate hidden between the parapodia, and some species are extremely large. The Californian black sea hare, Aplysia vaccaria is arguably the largest living gastropod species, and is certainly the largest living heterobranch gastropod.

<i>Glaucus atlanticus</i> Species of mollusc

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<i>Hermissenda crassicornis</i> Species of gastropod

Hermissenda crassicornis, also known as the opalescent nudibranch or thick-horned nudibranch, is a species of brightly coloured, sea slug or nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Facelinidae.

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<i>Aeolidia papillosa</i> Species of gastropod

Aeolidia papillosa, known as the common grey sea slug, is a species of nudibranch in the family Aeolidiidae.

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<i>Doris odhneri</i> Species of gastropod

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<i>Phyllodesmium</i> Genus of gastropods

Phyllodesmium is a genus of predatory sea slugs, aeolid nudibranchs, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Myrrhinidae.

<i>Chromodoris orientalis</i> Species of gastropod

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<i>Phidiana</i> Genus of gastropods

Phidiana is a genus of sea slugs, aeolid nudibranchs, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Facelinidae.

<i>Hermissenda</i> Genus of gastropods

Hermissenda is a genus of sea slugs, aeolid nudibranchs, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Facelinidae.

<i>Phyllodesmium opalescens</i> Species of gastropod

Phyllodesmium opalescens is a species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Facelinidae.

<i>Aplidium solidum</i> Species of chordates

Aplidium solidum is a species of colonial sea squirts, a tunicate in the family Polyclinidae. It is commonly known as the red ascidian or sea pork.

Charles Henry O'Donoghue FRSE FZS was an English zoologist who studied molluscs, a malacologist. His publications mostly deal with sea slugs and he also named a number of Bryozoans. A collection of over 700 items left to the University of Reading is known as the O'Donoghue Collection.

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

Hermissenda emurai is a species of brightly coloured sea slug or nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Facelinidae.

<i>Aeolidia loui</i> Species of gastropod

Aeolidia loui is a species of sea slugs, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Aeolidiidae. It has been regarded as the same species as the NE Atlantic Aeolidia papillosa but is now known to be a distinct species. Common names include shaggy mouse nudibranch, and shag-rug nudibranch.

The opalescent nudibranch or opalescent sea slug may refer to:

References

  1. 1 2 Cooper, James Graham. 1863. [for 1862]. Some new genera and species of California Mollusca. Proceedings of the California Academy of Natural Sciences 2:202-207.
  2. 1 2 3 Lindsay, T. & Valdés, Á. (2016) The Model Organism Hermissenda crassicornis (Gastropoda: Heterobranchia) Is a Species Complex. PLoS ONE 11(4): e0154265.
  3. O'Donoghue, C. H. 1922. Notes on the taxonomy of nudibranchiate Mollusca from the Pacific coast of North America. I. On the identification of Cavolina (i.e. Hermissenda) crassicornis of Eschscholtz. Nautilus 35(3):74-77.