''Spurilla dupontae'' 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 ...

, an aeolid

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 ...

. It is a shell-less

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 ...

Aeolidiidae Aeolidiidae, a family of aeolid nudibranchs, are a family of sea slugs, shell-less marine gastropod molluscs.Bouchet, P. (2014)''Aeolidiidae'' Gray, 1827.Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2014-10-24 Most, or perhaps all, mem ...

.Gofas, S. (2015)
''Spurilla dupontae''.
In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2016-11-21.

Distribution

This species was described from two specimens collected at

Stocking Island Stocking Island is a small, long, narrow island off the port of George Town, Great Exuma Island, The Bahamas. The island features beaches and several resorts. Location and geography Stocking Island is lightly inhabited, with a population of only ...

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 ...

. It has also been reported from

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...

.Caballer, M. and Buske, Y. (2016). ''First record of the Bahamian mollusc ''Spurilla dupontae'' (Mollusca: Aeolidiidae) in the Caribbean subprovince.'' Marine Biodiversity Records 9:20 DOI: 10.1186/s41200-016-0021-x

Description

''Spurilla dupontae'' has an elongate body, tapering abruptly to the tail. The body is translucent white to yellowish-brown. There is an ochre to brownish-green reticulate pattern and white spots all over the dorsum and cerata. The

rhinophores 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 hares ...

, oral tentacles and foot corners have the same reticulate pattern as the body. The rhinophores are perfoliate, with white tips and 9–12 lamellae.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q21323694 Aeolidiidae Gastropods described in 2014