''Tyrannodoris leonis'' 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
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 time ...
, a polycerid
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 match, ...
, a
marine gastropod mollusc 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 Euc ...
.
Distribution
This species was described from the
Galapagos Islands. It is also found in the Eastern
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...
, from
Costa Rica to the
Gulf of California
The Gulf of California ( es, Golfo de California), also known as the Sea of Cortés (''Mar de Cortés'') or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (''Mar Bermejo''), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja C ...
.
Description
''Tyrannodoris leonis'' reaches approximately 30 mm in length. Like other nudibranchs in the genus ''
Tyrannodoris'', it is carnivorous, feeding on other seaslugs.
[Rudman, W.B., 2007 (Jul 26)]
Comment on ''Roboastra leonis'' - Feeding behaviour by Alicia Hermosillo.
essage in/nowiki> Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q7353266
Polyceridae
Gastropods described in 2005