''Aldisa sanguinea'', common name the blood-spot dorid, 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

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

.MolluscaBase (2018)
''Aldisa sanguinea'' (J. G. Cooper, 1863).
Accessed on 2018-12-03.

Distribution

This species was described from

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. It has subsequently been recorded on the western seaboard of North America from British Columbia south to Mexico. In the north of this range, in Oregon and British Columbia, specimens are found which lack the two characteristic round markings on the back resembling the inhalant pore sieves of Hymedesmiid sponges. It is possible that these belong to a separate species.Rudman, W.B., 2002 (February 18
''Aldisa sanguinea'' (Cooper, 1863).
n/nowiki> Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.

Ecology

This species feeds on a red '' Hymedesmia'' sponge.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3168458 Cadlinidae Gastropods described in 1863