''Pleurobranchaea bubala'', the warty pleurobranch, 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 a sidegill slug or

notaspidea Notaspidea, also known as the sidegill slugs, is an artificial grouping of sea slugs which is now split into two unrelated groups, the Umbraculida and the Pleurobranchomorpha. Taxonomic history Notaspidea, also known as the sidegill slugs, was a ...

n. 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 ...

Pleurobranchaeidae The Pleurobranchaeidae are a taxonomic family of sea slugs, marine gastropod molluscs in the clade Pleurobranchomorpha The Pleurobranchidae are a taxonomic family of sea slugs, marine gastropod molluscs in the clade Pleurobranchomorpha. C ...

Distribution

This species is endemic to the

South African __NOTOC__ South African may relate to: * The nation of South Africa * South African Airways * South African English * South African people * Languages of South Africa * Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the Afric ...

coast and is found only from

Hout Bay Hout Bay ( af, Houtbaai, meaning "Wood Bay") is a harbour town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is situated in a valley on the Atlantic seaboard of the Cape Peninsula, twenty kilometres south of Cape Town. The name "Hout Bay" can ...

to Jeffreys BayGosliner, T. M. 1987. ''Nudibranchs of Southern Africa'' in 5–30 m of water.Zsilavecz, G. 2007. ''Nudibranchs of the Cape Peninsula and False Bay''.

Description

''Pleurobranchaea bubala'' has an oval sandy-coloured body with large opaque white bumps on the notum. It has a spade-shaped head and two widely separated rhinophores. There is a single gill on right hand side of body. It can be confused with '' Pleurobranchaea tarda'', which is smaller, has smoother skin, and can be found in deeper water.

Ecology

This pleurobranch is a voracious predator on other opisthobranchs. It has been seen eating smaller individuals of the same species. Its egg ribbon is a sizeable roll of several white loops.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7971067 Pleurobranchaeidae