''Mexichromis tura'' 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 time ...
, 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 match, ...
, a shell-less
marine gastropod 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
Chromodorididae
Chromodorididae, or chromodorids, are a taxonomic family of colourful, sea slugs; dorid nudibranchs, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Doridoidea. “Chromodorid nudibranchs are among the most gorgeously coloured of all animals.†...
.
[MolluscaBase (2018)]
''Mexichromis tura'' (Marcus & Marcus, 1967).
Accessed on 2019-01-22.
Distribution
This species is recorded from the
Gulf of California
The Gulf of California ( es, Golfo de California), also known as the Sea of Cortés (''Mar de Cortés'') or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (''Mar Bermejo''), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja C ...
to
Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...
and the Pacific Ocean coast of
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: MĂ©xico), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
.
[ It is considered to be rare.
]
Description
The central part of the mantle in ''Mexichromis tura'' is dark blue with irregular yellow spots and is surrounded by a series of concentric bands. Within the edge of the dark blue area there is a row of white spots which may merge into a line, then a broad pale blue area, a narrower black band and at the edge of the mantle a bright yellow line. The rhinophores are black and the gill leaves are white with the outer third black. This is a small animal, growing to in length.[Behrens, D. W., & Hermosillo, A. (2005) ''Eastern Pacific nudibranchs, a guide to the opisthobranchs from Alaska to Central America.'' vi + 137 pp., 314 photos. Sea Challengers, Monterey, California, page 85.][Debelius, H. & Kuiter, R.H. (2007) ''Nudibranchs of the world.'' ConchBooks, Frankfurt, 360 pp.
page(s): 208]
Ecology
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q6826152
Chromodorididae
Gastropods described in 1967