''Acanthodoris'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

sea slug Sea slug is a common name for some marine invertebrates with varying levels of resemblance to terrestrial slugs. Most creatures known as sea slugs are gastropods, i.e. they are sea snails (marine gastropod mollusks) that over evolutionary t ...

s, dorid

nudibranch 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 matc ...

s, shell-less

marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

gastropod The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. T ...

mollusk Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is e ...

s in the family

Onchidorididae Onchidorididae are a taxonomic family of sea slugs, dorid nudibranchs, marine gastropod molluscs in the superfamily Onchidoridoidea.Thompson, T. E., & Brown, G.H., 1984Biology of opisthobranch Molluscs.Vol. 2. Ray Society; London. 1-229, p.49 G ...

.Gofas, S. (2015)
''Acanthodoris'' Gray, 1850.
In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2016-01-09 The genus is believed to have originated in the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

in the

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...

period and spread to the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. The relationships of ''Acanthodoris'' to the other genera in the family Onchidorididae were evaluated by

molecular phylogeny Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

in 2015.Hallas, JM and Gosliner, TM. (2015) ''Family Matters: the first molecular phylogeny of the Onchidorididae (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Nudibranchia).'' Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 88: 16–27.

Species

Species within this genus include: *'' Acanthodoris armata'' O'Donoghue, 1927 (taxon inquirendum) *'' Acanthodoris atrogriseata'' O'Donoghue, 1927 *'' Acanthodoris brunnea'' MacFarland, 1905 *'' Acanthodoris caerulescens'' Bergh, 1880 (taxon inquirendum) *'' Acanthodoris falklandica'' Eliot, 1907 *'' Acanthodoris globosa'' Abraham, 1877 *''

Acanthodoris hudsoni ''Acanthodoris hudsoni'' is a species of sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusc in the family Onchidorididae. Distribution This species was described from Point Pinos, Monterey Bay, California. It has been rep ...

'' MacFarland, 1905 *'' Acanthodoris lutea'' MacFarland, 1925 *'' Acanthodoris metulifera'' Bergh, 1905 *'' Acanthodoris mollicella'' Abraham, 1877 *'' Acanthodoris nanaimoensis'' O'Donoghue, 1921 *'' Acanthodoris nanega'' Burn, 1969 *'' Acanthodoris pilosa'' (Abildgaard in Müller, 1789) - type species, synonyms: ''Doris quadrangulata'' Jeffreys, 1869 *'' Acanthodoris pina'' Ev. Marcus & Er. Marcus, 1967 *'' Acanthodoris planca'' Fahey & Valdés, 2005Fahey S. & Valdés A. (2005)
''A review of ''Acanthodoris'' Gray, 1850 with a Phylogenetic Analysis of Onchidorididae Alder and Hancock, 1845 (Mollusca, Nudibranchia)''.

Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences The California Academy of Sciences is a research institute and natural history museum in San Francisco, California, that is among the largest museums of natural history in the world, housing over 46 million specimens. The Academy began in 1853 ...

56: 213–272. *'' Acanthodoris rhodoceras'' Cockerell in Cockerell & Eliot, 1905 *'' Acanthodoris uchidai'' Baba, 1935 *'' Acanthodoris vatheleti'' Rochebrune & Mabille, 1891 (nomen dubium) ;Species brought into synonymy: * ''Acanthodoris bifida'' (Verrill, 1870): synonym of ''Acanthodoris pilosa'' (Abildgaard in Müller, 1789) * ''Acanthodoris citrina'' (Verrill, 1879): synonym of ''Acanthodoris pilosa'' (Abildgaard in Müller, 1789) * ''Acanthodoris columbina'' MacFarland, 1926: synonym of ''Acanthodoris nanaimoensis'' O'Donoghue, 1921 * ''Acanthodoris ornata'' (Verrill, 1879): synonym of ''Acanthodoris pilosa'' (Abildgaard in Müller, 1789) * ''Acanthodoris pallida'' Bergh, 1905: synonym of ''Acanthodoris pilosa'' (Abildgaard in Müller, 1789) ** ''Acanthodoris pilosa ornata'' (Verrill, 1879): synonym of ''Acanthodoris pilosa'' (Abildgaard in Müller, 1789) * ''Acanthodoris serpentinotus'' Williams & Gosliner, 1979: synonym of ''Acanthodoris pina'' Ev. Marcus & Er. Marcus, 1967 * ''Acanthodoris stellata'' (Gmelin, 1791): synonym of ''Acanthodoris pilosa'' (Abildgaard in Müller, 1789) * ''Acanthodoris stohleri'' Lance, 1968: synonym of ''Acanthodoris pina'' Ev. Marcus & Er. Marcus, 1967 * ''Acanthodoris subquadrata'' (Alder & Hancock, 1845): synonym of ''Acanthodoris pilosa'' (Abildgaard in Müller, 1789)

References

* Vaught, K.C. (1989). ''A classification of the living Mollusca''. American Malacologists: Melbourne, FL (USA). . XII, 195 pp. * Gofas, S.; Le Renard, J.; Bouchet, P. (2001). Mollusca, in: Costello, M.J. et al. (Ed.) (2001). ''European register of marine species: a check-list of the marine species in Europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification''. Collection Patrimoines Naturels, 50: pp. 180–213 {{Taxonbar, from=Q2822564 Onchidorididae Taxa named by John Edward Gray