''Nembrotha kubaryana'', also known as the variable neon slug or the dusky nembrotha, 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 colorful

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 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 ...

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

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 ...

.Bouchet, P. (2014). Nembrotha kubaryana Bergh, 1877. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=527322 on 2014-12-21

Synonymy

Its synonyms include ''Nembrotha nigerrima''. The two names ''Nembrotha nigerrima'' and ''N. kubaryana'' were published simultaneously by

Rudolph Bergh Rudolph Bergh (15 October 1824 – 20 July 1909), full name Ludvig Sophus Rudolph Bergh, was a Danish physician and malacologist. He worked in Copenhagen. As a doctor his speciality was sexually transmitted diseases. In Copenhagen a hospital and ...

in 1877, the first one on page 451, the second on page 454. Yonow & Hayward (1991) treated the two names as synonyms and, acting as

first reviser The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is a widely accepted convention in zoology that rules the formal scientific naming of organisms treated as animals. It is also informally known as the ICZN Code, for its publisher, the ...

s, gave precedence to ''kubaryana'' over ''nigerrima''. Pola et al. (2008) agreed with the synonymy, but initially rejected Yonow & Hayward's nomenclatural act, arguing that ''nigerrima'' had page precedence over ''kubaryana''. However, the

ICZN Code The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is a widely accepted convention in zoology that rules the formal scientific naming of organisms treated as animals. It is also informally known as the ICZN Code, for its publisher, the ...

does not contain such a thing as "page precedence", and Yonow & Hayward's (1991) action was valid – and this position has been repeated by Yonow (2011). Pola et al. reversed their conclusion and accepted Yonow's act as first reviser in a following paper later the same year.

Distribution

This species occurs in the tropical

Western Indo-Pacific The Western Indo-Pacific is a biogeographic region of the Earth's seas, comprising the tropical waters of the eastern and central Indian Ocean. It is part of the larger Indo-Pacific, which includes the tropical Indian Ocean, the western and centra ...

.Seaslugforum.net
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Description

This animal can reach a total length of more than 120 mm. It is a large dark-bodied nudibranch which may have green stripes running down the length of the body or have green raised spots. The margin of the foot and head is a vivid red-orange. 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 and

gills A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...

may be red or green. ''Nembrotha kubaryana'' is easily confused with a similar species, ''

Nembrotha cristata ''Nembrotha cristata'' is a species of colourful sea slug, a polycerid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Polyceridae.Bouchet, P. (2015)''Nembrotha cristata'' Bergh, 1877.In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Regist ...

'' although the latter has no red-orange border on its foot.

Ecology

The variable neon slug feeds on

ascidian Ascidiacea, commonly known as the ascidians, tunicates (in part), and sea squirts (in part), is a polyphyletic class in the subphylum Tunicata of sac-like marine invertebrate filter feeders. Ascidians are characterized by a tough outer "tunic" m ...

s and has been observed feeding on the green-ringed ascidian, '' Sigillina signifera''. File:Nembrotha kubaryana (AA1).jpg, ''Nembrotha kubaryana'' at

Verde Island Verde Island is a volcanic island situated along the bodies of Isla Verde Passage, Verde Island Passage between the islands of Luzon and Mindoro, Philippines. It was in 1988 when a small village was connected to mains electricity through the eff ...

, the Philippines. File:Kubaryana_eating_clavelina.jpg, ''N. kubaryana'' eating '' Oxycorynia fascicularis'' tunicates File:Nembrotha_kubaryana.JPG, ''N. kubaryana'' File:Nembrotha kubaryana (Nudibranch).jpg, ''N. kubaryana'' in

East Timor East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-weste ...

File:Nudibranch - Nembrotha kubaryana.jpg, ''N. kubaryana'' from Bali

Chemical defences

''N. kubaryana'' uses the toxins in its prey ascidians to defend itself against predators.Paul, V. J., Lindquist, N., Fenical, W.
Chemical defenses of the tropical ascidian ''Atapozoa'' sp. and its nudibranch predators ''Nembrotha'' spp.

MEPS A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

59:109-118 (1990) It stores the ascidian's toxins in its tissues and then releases them in a slimy defensive mucus when alarmed.

References

External links

''Nembrotha kubaryana'' page at nudipixel
* {{Taxonbar, from=Q2486240 Polyceridae Gastropods described in 1877