''Doriopsilla gemela'' 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 ...

of 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 colourful

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 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 ...

in the family

Dendrodorididae Dendrodorididae is a taxonomic family of sea slugs, dorid nudibranchs, marine gastropod molluscs in the Superfamily Phyllidioidea. Genera A maximum-parsimony analysis of the nucleotide sequence of the 16S mtDNA gene In biology, th ...

. There are five other species that are quite similar to this species and can be confused with it, and they are: ''

Doriopsilla albopunctata ''Doriopsilla albopunctata'', the white-spotted sea goddess, is a species of dorid nudibranch, a colorful sea slug, in the family Dendrodorididae. It is native to the Pacific Coast of North America, from Mendocino County, California south, possib ...

'' (

Cooper Cooper, Cooper's, Coopers and similar may refer to: * Cooper (profession), a maker of wooden casks and other staved vessels Arts and entertainment * Cooper (producers), alias of Dutch producers Klubbheads * Cooper (video game character), in ...

, 1863), '' Doriopsilla bertschi'' Hoover, Lindsay, Goddard & Valdés, 2015, '' Doriopsilla davebehrensi'' Hoover, Lindsay, Goddard & Valdés, 2015, '' Doriopsilla fulva'' (MacFarland, 1905) and ''

Baptodoris mimetica ''Baptodoris mimetica'' is a species of sea slug or dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Discodorididae.Rosenberg, G. (2015)''Baptodoris mimetica'' Gosliner, 1991.In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of ...

'' Gosliner, 1991.Hoover C., Lindsay T., Goddard J.H.R. & Valdés A. (2015)
"Seeing double: pseudocryptic diversity in the ''Doriopsilla albopunctata–Doriopsilla gemela'' species complex of the north-eastern Pacific."
Zoologica Scripta. 44: 612-631.

Distribution

This species was described from the intertidal zone, Hill Street,

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

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 ...

Description

This nudibranch can grow as large as 25 mm. It can be dark yellow to orange in colour, but always with very small opaque white dots. Larger dots are found on the tubercles, with numerous small white dots scattered between the tubercles. 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 are orange-yellow in colour with 9 lamellae on the club. The gills are dark yellow to orange.Rudman, W.B., 2003 (July 29
''Doriopsilla gemela'' Gosliner, Schaefer & Millen, 1999.
n/nowiki> Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.

Life habits

''Doriopsilla gemela'' eats a sponge.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q13596076 Dendrodorididae Gastropods described in 1999