''Verconia norba'' 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 colorful

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 ...

, a dorid nudibranch, 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 ...

mollusk 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 e ...

in the family Chromodorididae.Bieler, R. (2015). Verconia norba (Er. Marcus & Ev. Marcus, 1970). In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=866658 on 13 January 2016

Distribution

This species is found throughout the tropical Indo-West Pacific.Noumea norba
Sea Slug Forum.

Description

The length of the body varies between 7 mm and 25 mm. In this species the

mantle A mantle is a piece of clothing, a type of cloak. Several other meanings are derived from that. Mantle may refer to: *Mantle (clothing), a cloak-like garment worn mainly by women as fashionable outerwear **Mantle (vesture), an Eastern Orthodox ve ...

can vary in color from reddish purple to pinkish orange. The mantle border is creamy white. Just inside the mantle border are a series of reddish purple streaks or smudged marks which are a more vibrant purple than the main body color. Along the midline of the animal is a white patch that matches the white border. This patch sometimes encircles the gills and extends anteriorly between the rhinophores. The line is often broken into two patches anterior-posteriorly. The rhinophores and branchia ( gills) have an orange-red tint. Identifying individual purple sea slugs within the genus ''Noumea'' can be challenging becaus
purple forms exist in several related species

Ecology

The food source for this species has not been definitely identified, however this species has been found on coralline alga, which may prove to be part of its diet.''Noumea norba'' food source
Sea Slug Forum.

References

* Marcus, E. & Marcus, E. 1970. ''Opisthobranch Mollusks from the Southern Tropical Pacific''. Pacific Science 24: 155-179 * Debelius, H. & Kuiter, R.H. 2007. ''Nudibranchs of the world''. Frankfurt : IKAN-Unterwasserarchiv.

External links

''Noumea norba'' on Sea Slug Forum''Noumea norba'' on Nudipixel
* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q3878977 Chromodorididae Gastropods described in 1970