| Tritoniella | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Subclass: | Heterobranchia |
| Order: | Nudibranchia |
| Suborder: | Cladobranchia |
| Family: | Tritoniidae |
| Genus: | Tritoniella Eliot, 1907 [1] |
| Type species | |
| Tritoniella belli Eliot, 1907 | |
| Species | |
| |
Tritoniella is a genus of sea slugs, specifically dendronotid nudibranchs. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Tritoniidae.The genus was described in 1907 by the British diplomat and malacologist Charles Eliot. [1]
Tritoniella can be differentiated from Tritonia (the only other Tritoniidae sharing its distribution range) by a wide dorsal ridge and lack of foliaceous tufts (gills). [2]
It can grow to a length of up to 8 cm (3 in). Most individuals have a ridge running along the middle of the back. The colour is variable, ranging from a translucent milky white to yellow or orange. [3]
Tritoniella can be found in the Southern Ocean around the coast of Antarctica and along the Scotia Arc up north to Burdwood Bank south of the Falkland Islands at depths between 5 m (20 ft) and 751 m (2,500 ft). [3] [2]
Tritoniella feeds mainly on soft corals, [2] but may also feed on hydroids and sea anemones. [3]
Tritoniella belli incorporates the chimyl alcohol ingested from Clavularia frankliniana into its tissue to use it as a chemical defence to make itself upalatable against predators. [3]
It is avoided by the predatory starfishes Odontaster validus , Perknaster fuscus and Acodontaster conspicuus because the mucus it extrudes is distasteful; it is preyed on by the sea anemone Isotealia antarctica , but 70% of the encounters between the two result in the nudibranch escaping, or the sea anemone swallowing the nudibranch but then regurgitating it from its gastrovascular cavity. [4] The gelatinous egg ribbons of the nudibranch are also eaten by I. antarctica but rejected by O. validus. [5]
Nudibranchs are a group of soft-bodied marine gastropod molluscs which shed their shells after their larval stage. They are noted for their often extraordinary colours and striking forms, and they have been given colourful nicknames to match, such as "clown", "marigold", "splendid", "dancer", "dragon", or "sea rabbit". Currently, about 3,000 valid species of nudibranchs are known.
Sir Charles Norton Edgcumbe Eliot was a British diplomat, colonial administrator and botanist. He served as Commissioner of British East Africa in 1900–1904. He was British Ambassador to Japan in 1919–1925.
Dendronotoidea is a taxonomic superfamily of small colorful sea slugs or nudibranchs, aeolid nudibranchs.
Eubranchidae is a taxonomic family of sea slugs, marine gastropod molluscs in the superfamily Aeolidioidea, the aeolid nudibranchs.
Aeolidia papillosa, known as the common grey sea slug, is a species of nudibranch in the family Aeolidiidae.
Nembrotha lineolata is a species of nudibranch, a sea slug, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Polyceridae. It is found in shallow water in the Indo-Pacific. It was first described in 1905 by the Danish malacologist Rudolph Bergh. The type locality is Selayar Island, Indonesia.
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.
Clione limacina, known as the naked sea butterfly, sea angel, and common clione, is a sea angel found from the surface to greater than 500 m (1,600 ft) depth. It lives in the Arctic Ocean and cold regions of the North Atlantic Ocean. It was first described by Friderich Martens in 1676 and became the first gymnosomatous "pteropod" to be described.
Tritonia challengeriana is a species of dendronotid nudibranch. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Tritoniidae.
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.
Clione antarctica is a species of "sea angel", a sea slug, a pelagic marine gastropod mollusk in the family Clionidae, the "sea angels".
Berghia is a genus of sea slugs, aeolid nudibranchs. They are shell-less marine gastropod molluscs in the family Aeolidiidae. They are covered in cerata which give them their unique tentacle look and color. Berghia are commonly found in shallow waters and their diet consists of strictly Aiptasia Anemone. This genus is now commonly used commercially to fight off Anemone populations in fish tanks.
Odontaster validus is a species of sea star in the family Odontasteridae. Its range includes the Southern Ocean and the seas around the mainland and islands of Antarctica.
Notaeolidia depressa is a species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Notaeolidiidae.
Marionia levis is a species of dendronotid nudibranch. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Tritoniidae and is found in shallow water in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean.
Tochuina nigritigris is a species of dendronotid nudibranch, in the family Tritoniidae, that is 82 mm long.
Isotealia antarctica, the salmon anemone, is a species of sea anemone in the family Actiniidae. It is found in the southern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and the waters around Antarctica. It is a filter feeder and opportunistic predator.
Tritoniella belli is a species of the nudibranch genus Tritoniella. The species was described together with its synonym Tritoniella sinuata in 1907 by the British diplomat and malacologist Charles Eliot. It is found in the Southern Ocean along the coast of Antarctica and along the southern parts of the Scotia Arc in depths between 5 m (20 ft) and 700 m (2,300 ft).
Clavularia frankliniana is a species of colonial soft coral in the family Clavulariidae. It is found in the southern Atlantic Ocean and the waters around Antarctica. It was first described in 1902 by the French zoologist Louis Roule.