Tritonicula wellsi

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Tritonicula wellsi
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Heterobranchia
Order: Nudibranchia
Suborder: Cladobranchia
Family: Tritoniidae
Genus: Tritonicula
Species:
T. wellsi
Binomial name
Tritonicula wellsi
Er. Marcus, 1961 [1]

Tritonicula wellsi, the sea whip slug, is a species of nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusc in the family Tritoniidae. [2] The type locality is Beaufort, North Carolina. [3] A number of Caribbean and western Pacific species of Tritonia were moved to a new genus Tritonicula in 2020 as a result of an integrative taxonomic study of the family Tritoniidae. [4]

Contents

Description

Tritonicula wellsi is white and grows to about 1.5 centimetres (0.6 in) long. The head bears a pair of rhinophores (sensory organs) each with a sheath at its base. There are also six tentacles on the head in a transverse line. The body has two longitudinal rows of arborescent (tree-like) gills which resemble the polyps of the whip corals on which it lives and feeds. It is adapted for life on the coral, Leptogorgia virgulata , and is found nowhere else. It closely resembles the related species, Tritonicula bayeri , which has much the same range. [5]

Distribution

Tritonicula wellsi is found wherever its host occurs, on the western fringes of the Atlantic Ocean, from North Carolina and Florida south to Belize, Honduras, Costa Rica, the Virgin Islands and Brazil. [3] [6]

Related Research Articles

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

Tritoniidae is a taxonomic family of nudibranchs in the suborder Cladobranchia, shell-less marine gastropod molluscs. This family includes some of the largest known nudibranchs, with the NE Atlantic species Tritonia hombergii reaching 20 cm in length. It is the only family in the monotypic superfamily Tritonioidea.

<i>Duvaucelia plebeia</i> Species of gastropod

Duvaucelia plebeia, common name the European nudibranch, is a species of sea slug, a nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Tritoniidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diamondback tritonia</span> Species of gastropod

The diamondback tritonia is a species of nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Tritoniidae. It is an opportunistic predator of other marine invertebrates.

<i>Tritonia</i> (gastropod) Genus of gastropods

Tritonia is a genus of sea slugs, nudibranchs, shell-less marine gastropod molluscs in the family Tritoniidae.

<i>Tochuina gigantea</i> Species of gastropod

Tochuina gigantea, common name the giant orange tochui, is a species of sea slug, a tritonid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Tritoniidae.

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

Duvaucelia odhneri, is a species of dendronotid nudibranch. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Tritoniidae.

<i>Tritonicula bayeri</i> Species of mollusc

Tritonicula bayeri is a species of dendronotid nudibranch. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Tritoniidae. A number of Caribbean and western Pacific species of Tritonia were moved to a new genus Tritonicula in 2020 as a result of an integrative taxonomic study of the family Tritoniidae.

<i>Tritonicula hamnerorum</i> Species of gastropod

Tritonicula hamnerorum is a species of dendronotid nudibranch. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Tritoniidae. A number of Caribbean species of Tritonia were moved to a new genus Tritonicula in 2020 as a result of an integrative taxonomic study of the family Tritoniidae.

<i>Tritonia hombergii</i> Species of gastropod

Tritonia hombergii is a species of dendronotid nudibranch. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Tritoniidae.

Tritonicula myrakeenae is a species of dendronotid nudibranch. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Tritoniidae. A number of species of Tritonia were moved to a new genus Tritonicula in 2020 as a result of an integrative taxonomic study of the family Tritoniidae.

Tochuina nigromaculata is a species of dendronotid nudibranch. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Tritoniidae.

Tritonicula pickensi is a species of dendronotid nudibranch. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Tritoniidae. A number of Caribbean and western Pacific species of Tritonia were moved to a new genus Tritonicula in 2020 as a result of an integrative taxonomic study of the family Tritoniidae.

<i>Duvaucelia striata</i> Species of gastropod

Duvaucelia striata is a species of dendronotid nudibranch from the western Mediterranean. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Tritoniidae.

Tochuina is a genus of sea slugs, tritonid nudibranchs, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Tritoniidae.

<i>Leptogorgia virgulata</i> Species of coral

Leptogorgia virgulata, commonly known as the sea whip or colorful sea whip, is a species of soft coral in the family Gorgoniidae.

Tochuina nigritigris is a species of dendronotid nudibranch, in the family Tritoniidae, that is 82 mm long.

<i>Duvaucelia</i> Genus of gastropods

Duvaucelia is a genus of sea slugs, nudibranchs, shell-less marine gastropod molluscs in the family Tritoniidae. It was synonymised with Tritonia until 2020 when a revision of the family Tritoniidae brought it back into use.

Tritonicula is a genus of sea slugs, nudibranchs, shell-less marine gastropod molluscs in the family Tritoniidae. It contains species previously included in Tritonia as a result of a revision of the family Tritoniidae.

Doridomorpha is a genus of sea slugs, arminoid nudibranchs, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Doridomorphidae.

Tritonidoxa is a genus of sea slugs, specifically dendronotid nudibranchs. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Tritoniidae.

References

  1. ↑ Marcus, Er. (1961). Opisthobranchs from North Carolina. The Journal of the Mitchell Society. November 1961: 141-151.
  2. ↑ MolluscaBase eds. (2020). MolluscaBase. Tritonicula wellsi (Er. Marcus, 1961). Accessed on 2021-01-06.
  3. 1 2 Tritonia wellsi - Er. Marcus, 1961 Malacolog: A Database of Western Atlantic Marine Mollusca. Retrieved 2011-12-10.
  4. ↑ Korshunova, T.; Martynov, A. (2020). Consolidated data on the phylogeny and evolution of the family Tritoniidae (Gastropoda: Nudibranchia) contribute to genera reassessment and clarify the taxonomic status of the neuroscience models Tritonia and Tochuina. PLOS ONE. 15(11): e0242103.
  5. ↑ Ruppert, Edward E.; Richard S. Fox (1988). Seashore animals of the Southeast: a guide to common shallow-water invertebrates of the Southeastern Atlantic Coast. p. 124. ISBN   9780872495357 . Retrieved 2011-12-10.
  6. ↑ Caussat, M. 2021. Tritonia wellsi Seaslugs Guadeloupe, accessed 2021-01-06.
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