''Doto paulinae'' is a species of sea slug, a nudibranch, 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 Dotidae''.

Distribution

This species was described from Genova, Italy in the Mediterranean Sea.

Description

The body of this nudibranch is mostly transparent white in colour with cream coloured organs showing through the skin. There is a band of dark pigment along the midline of the back and extending into the inner surfaces of the rhinophore sheaths and a similar area of dark pigment on the inner faces of the cerata. Each ceratal tubercle is covered with a dark pigment patch, except for the elongate terminal tubercle which is transparent, showing white glandular bodies concentrated below the surface.

Ecology

''Doto paulinae'' has been reported to feed on colonies of the hydroid, ''Obelia geniculata'' (family

Campanulariidae Campanulariidae is a family of animals in the phylum Cnidaria, or stinging-celled animals. Campanulariidae is composed entirely of hydroids, a Greek term meaning "water animals" applied to the plant-like polyp colonies of the class Hydrozoa. All ...

).Schmekel, L. and Portmann, A., 1982. Opisthobranchia des Mittelmeeres. Nudibranchia und Saccoglossa. L. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. 410 pages, 36 plates (18 in colour). Printed in German (some English sections). Recent finds in France were of animals matching Trinchese's description but feeding on ''Aglaophenia''.Rudman, W.B., 2006 (May 3) ''Doto paulinae'' Trinchese, 1881. n">Rudman, W.B., 2006 (May 3) ''Doto paulinae'' Trinchese, 1881. from=Q13596887 Dotidae Gastropods described in 1881">n
/nowiki> Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney./ref>

References

{{Taxonbar">from=Q13596887 Dotidae Gastropods described in 1881