''Polycera norvegica'', is a
sea slug, a
species of
dorid
''Doridacea'' is a taxonomic grouping of dorid nudibranchs, shell-less marine gastropod mollusks.Bouchet P. & Rocroi J.-P. (Ed.); Frýda J., Hausdorf B., Ponder W., Valdes A. & Warén A. 2005''Classification and nomenclator of gastropod families ...
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 Polyceridae.
Distribution
This nudibranch is described from
Norway and DNA-determined from
Scotland where it is sympatric with ''
Polycera quadrilineata
''Polycera quadrilineata'', is a sea slug, a species of dorid nudibranch. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Polyceridae. The specific epithet ''quadrilineata'' means four-lined and refers to the four longitudinal black lines present ...
'' with which it has previously been confused.
Description
''Polycera norvegica'' is a smooth-bodied nudibranch with two colour morphs. The ground colour is translucent white with yellow or orange tubercles which may unite into lines along the mantle margin and midline of the body. The spotted colour morph has smaller yellow spots and additional black speckles which may partially fuse into brown patches in some individuals. The head has four or occasionally six projections with yellow surface pigmentation which may be reduced to spots of yellow in the speckled morph. The
gills and
rhinophores are translucent white, tipped with yellow.
[
]
Ecology
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q104849478
Polyceridae
Gastropods described in 2020