Pleurobranchaea bubala

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Pleurobranchaea bubala
Warty pleurobranch.jpg
A close-up of Pleurobranchaea bubula, head towards the left
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Order: Pleurobranchida
Family: Pleurobranchaeidae
Genus: Pleurobranchaea
Species:
P. bubala
Binomial name
Pleurobranchaea bubala
Marcus & Gosliner, 1984

Pleurobranchaea bubala, the warty pleurobranch, is a species of sea slug, specifically a sidegill slug or notaspidean. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Pleurobranchaeidae. [1]

Contents

Distribution

This species is endemic to the South African coast and is found only from Hout Bay to Jeffreys Bay [2] in 5–30 m of water. [3]

Description

The length of the species is on average between 60 mm and 70 mm. [4]

Pleurobranchaea bubala has an oval sandy-coloured body with large opaque white bumps on the notum. It has a spade-shaped head and two widely separated rhinophores. There is a single gill on right hand side of body. It can be confused with Pleurobranchaea tarda , which is smaller, has smoother skin, and can be found in deeper water. [2]

Distinguishing features

he dorsal surface has a honeycomb-like, mottled coloration of brown, black, and yellow. The body is very soft and fleshy with a slimy texture. When submerged, two dorso-laterally positioned rhinophores (chemosensory tentacles) often extend, along with a tube-like mouth. From the ventral view, feather-like gills (branchia) are clearly visible on the right side, along with the foot. The body of Pleurobranchaea is very soft and does not retain its shape well out of water. [4]

Ecology

The egg ribbon of the warty pleurobranch being eaten by hunchback amphipods Eggs of warty pleurobranch.jpg
The egg ribbon of the warty pleurobranch being eaten by hunchback amphipods

This pleurobranch is a voracious predator on other opisthobranchs. It has been seen eating smaller individuals of the same species. [2] Its egg ribbon is a sizeable roll of several white loops.

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References

  1. Pleurobranchaea bubala Ev. Marcus & Gosliner, 1984 . 29 October 2024. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species .
  2. 1 2 3 Gosliner, T. M. 1987. Nudibranchs of Southern Africa ISBN   0-930118-13-8
  3. Zsilavecz, G. 2007. Nudibranchs of the Cape Peninsula and False Bay. ISBN   0-620-38054-3
  4. 1 2 Herbert, D.G., Jones, G.J. & Atkinson, L.J. (2018). Phylum Mollusca. In: Atkinson, L.J. and Sink, K.J. (eds) Field Guide to the Offshore Marine Invertebrates of South Africa. Pretoria: Malachite Marketing and Media. p. 289. doi:10.15493/SAEON.PUB.10000001. ISBN   978-1-86868-098-6 . Retrieved 26 October 2024.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) Creative Commons by-sa small.svg  This article incorporates textfrom this source, which is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license.