''Aldisa albatrossae'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

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 ...

, a

dorid ''Doridacea'' is a taxonomic grouping of dorid nudibranchs, shell-less marine gastropod mollusks.Bouchet P. & Rocroi J.-P. (Ed.); Frýda J., Hausdorf B., Ponder W., Valdes A. & Warén A. 2005''Classification and nomenclator of gastropod families ...

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 ...

, a

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 ...

mollusc 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 esti ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Cadlinidae Cadlinidae is a family of sea slugs, dorid nudibranchs, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Doridoidea. Molecular phylogenetic studies and their taxon-sampling schemes can have a strong influence of the resulting phylogeny. Research by ...

.Bouchet, P. (2015)
''Aldisa albatrossae'' Elwood, Valdés & Gosliner, 2000.
In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2016-02-04

Distribution

Described from Seragaki,

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

, Japan, this

demersal The demersal zone is the part of the sea or ocean (or deep lake) consisting of the part of the water column near to (and significantly affected by) the seabed and the benthos. The demersal zone is just above the benthic zone and forms a layer of ...

nudibranch has a wide distribution in the tropical Pacific region. It has been found at depths between 3 and 72 m, in diverse places:

, the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

and North

Sulawesi Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Ar ...

Description

''Aldisa albatrossae'' is a rather small nudibranch, with a length between 11 and 22 mm. The bluish gray dorsum is covered with many white, round

tubercle In anatomy, a tubercle (literally 'small tuber', Latin for 'lump') is any round nodule, small eminence, or warty outgrowth found on external or internal organs of a plant or an animal. In plants A tubercle is generally a wart-like projection ...

s. Typically there is a black line which starts in front of the

rhinophore A rhinophore is one of a pair of chemosensory club-shaped, rod-shaped or ear-like structures which are the most prominent part of the external head anatomy in sea slugs, marine gastropod opisthobranch mollusks such as the nudibranchs, sea har ...

s, and continues in a rectangular shape to the

gill A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...

s at the back. This black line then encompasses the gills. There are also yellow-orange markings on the corners of the rectangle. The lamellate rhinophores have a translucent, dirty-white color. The bipinnate gills only have a few branches, and have the same dirty white color. It is believed to mimic species of '' Phyllidiella'' and shares this characteristic with some other species of ''Aldisa'' such as ''

Aldisa williamsi ''Aldisa williamsi'' is a species of sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cadlinidae. Distribution This species was described from Barracuda Point in Papua New Guinea. It has subsequently been found in Sulawe ...

'', '' Aldisa erwinkoehleri'' and unrelated dorid nudibranchs such as '' Paradoris liturata''.Rudman, W.B., 2002 (March 11
''Aldisa erwinkoehleri'' Perrone, 2001.
nSea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4713838 Cadlinidae Gastropods described in 2000