''Kaloplocamus dokte'' 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
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
nudibranch, 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 ...
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
Polyceridae
The Polyceridae are a taxonomic family of sea slugs, dorid nudibranchs, marine gastropod mollusks within the superfamily Polyceroidea.
Taxonomy
The family Polyceridae is classified within the clade Doridacea, itself belonging to the clade Euct ...
.
Description
When alive, this species appears to be ovoid in shape but upon a closer view, the posterior portion of the foot is elongated. Most of the animal is opaque white except for the posterior end of the foot and the eight velar appendages, which are highly transparent. The dorsal and central portions of the body are translucent and the digestive gland is visible. The three tripinnate branchial leaves, are a translucent red-carmine. The rhinophores are of the same color as the branchial leaves, but more translucent with white dots on the apex. The long, large, lateral appendages are totally opaque white except at the apex, where they ramify and become more cream in tone. There are four pairs of lateral appendages. They are smooth with ramifications in the apex only. Instead of being sharp and long these ramifications are rounded, almost globular and there are many of them resembling in shape to a bunch of grapes. These ramifications only occur on the exterior portion of the lateral appendage, with the interior portion being smooth over its entire length.
Distribution
The type locality for this species is Barracuda Point, Madang, Papua New Guinea. In the original description it has also been reported from the Philippines and Indonesia.
References
External links
Sunshine Coast nudibranchs
Polyceridae
Gastropods described in 2006
{{Polyceridae-stub