''Pauleo jubatus'' 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 ...

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 ...

, specifically an aeolid nudibranch. It is 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 Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Facelinidae The Facelinidae are a Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic family (biology), family of colorful sea slugs. These are specifically aeolid nudibranchs. They are marine (ocean), marine gastropod molluscs.Bouchet, P. (2012). Facelinidae. Accessed through: W ...

. It is the only species in the genus ''Pauleo''.

Distribution

The

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...

of this species was found at Taino Beach,

Grand Bahama Grand Bahama is the northernmost of the islands of the Bahamas, with the town of West End located east of Palm Beach, Florida. It is the third largest island in the Bahamas island chain of approximately 700 islands and 2,400 cays. The island is ...

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

, . Additional localities mentioned in the description include Grand Cayman, Little Cayman, Jamaica, Eleuthera, Belize and Honduras.

Ecology

This species feeds on the gorgonian coral ''

Plexaurella dichotoma ''Plexaurella'' is a genus of gorgonian-type octocorals in the family Plexauridae. Species of the genus are typically characterised by their slit-pores, however, there are some which lack this distinguishing feature (e.g. ''P. grisea'').Bayer, FM ...

''. Feeding on soft corals instead of hydroids is typical of the genus ''

Phyllodesmium ''Phyllodesmium'' is a genus of predatory sea slugs, aeolid nudibranchs, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Facelinidae.Bouchet, P. (2012). ''Phyllodesmium'' Ehrenberg, 1831. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www ...

'' but in ''Phyllodesmium'' there are no functional

cnidosac A cnidosac is an anatomical feature that is found in the group of sea slugs known as aeolid nudibranchs, a clade of marine opisthobranch gastropod molluscs. A cnidosac contains cnidocytes, stinging cells that are also known as cnidoblasts or nemato ...

s, possibly because the cnidae of soft corals are not useful in defence of the nudibranchs. ''Pauleo'' differs from ''Phyllodesmium'' in having functional cnidosacs.Rudman, W.B., 1999 (August 24
''Pauleo jubatus'' Millen & Hamann, 1992.
n/nowiki> Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3898195 Facelinidae Gastropods described in 1992