''Diaulula phoca'' 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 ...

or 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 ...

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 ...

Discodorididae Discodorididae is a taxonomic family of sea slugs, specifically dorid nudibranchs, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Doridoidea.Bouchet, P. (2011). Discodorididae. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marine ...

.Rosenberg, G. (2010). Diaulula phoca (Ev. Marcus & Er. Marcus, 1967). In: Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S.; Rosenberg, G. (2010) World Marine Mollusca database. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=532733 on 2012-03-01

Taxonomy

This species was originally described under the name ''Discodoris phoca'' by

Eveline Du Bois-Reymond Marcus Eveline du Bois-Reymond Marcus (6 October 1901 – 31 January 1990) was a German zoologist and drawer. Life Eveline Du Bois-Reymond was the youngest daughter of Rene and Frieda du Bois-Reymond, as well as a granddaughter of physiologist Emil Du B ...

and

Ernst Gustav Gotthelf Marcus Ernst Gustav Gotthelf Marcus (8 June 1893 – 30 June 1968) was a German zoologist, former occupant of the chair of zoology at the University of São Paulo from 1936 to 1963, and co-founder of the Oceanographic Institute of the University of São ...

in 1967. It is considered a member of ''

Diaulula ''Diaulula'' is a genus of sea slugs, dorid nudibranchs, shell-less marine gastropod molluscs in the family Discodorididae. Species Species in the genus ''Diaulula'' include: * '' Diaulula alba'' (K. White, 1952) * '' Diaulula aurila'' (Ev. ...

'' because of the presence of caryophyllidia.

Distribution

Distribution of ''Diaulula phoca'' includes Florida, Honduras, Costa Rica, Brazil and Panama. The type locality is west side of the

Key Biscayne Key Biscayne ( es, Cayo Vizcaíno, link=no) is an island located in Miami-Dade County, Florida, located between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay. It is the southernmost of the barrier islands along the Atlantic coast of Florida, and lies sout ...

island, Florida. The

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...

is stored in the

National Museum of Natural History The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. In 2021, with 7 ...

, Smithsonian Institution.

Description

The body is oval. Mantle is rigid. Dorsum is covered with small caryophyllidia. Body,

rhinophores 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 hares ...

, and gill are dark purplish brown with numerous small opaque white dots. It is up to 55 mm long.

Ecology

It feeds on

sponges Sponges, the members of the phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), are a basal animal clade as a sister of the diploblasts. They are multicellular organisms that have bodies full of pores and channels allowing water to circulate through ...

References

This article incorporates Creative Commons (CC-BY-4.0) text from the referenceGoodheart J. A., Ellingson R. A., Vital X. G., Galvão Filho H. C., McCarthy J. B., Medrano S. M., Bhave V. J., García-Méndez K., Jiménez L. M., López G. & Hoover C. A. (2016). "Identification guide to the heterobranch sea slugs (Mollusca: Gastropoda) from Bocas del Toro, Panama". ''Marine Biodiversity Records'' 9(1): 56.

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5272171 Discodorididae Gastropods described in 1967 Taxa named by Eveline Du Bois-Reymond Marcus Taxa named by Ernst Marcus (zoologist)