''Ceratosoma brevicaudatum'', the short-tailed ceratosoma, 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 colourful dorid nudibranch, a

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 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.

Distribution

Houtman Abrolhos, Western Australia, across South Australia and Victoria to Cape Byron, New South Wales, and around Tasmania.

Description

This firm-bodied species grows to a maximum recorded length of 15 centimetres. Within South Australian waters, dark coloured individuals are more common in the west and paler colours more so in the east. An orange form is considered typical in SA.Rudman, W.B., 1998 (October 14
''Ceratosoma brevicaudatum'' Abraham, 1876.
nSea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.

Ecology

The species feeds on Euryspongia spp. sponges. Ceratosoma brevicaudatum 4.jpg, ''Ceratosoma brevicaudatum'' Ceratosoma brevicaudatum 1.jpg, Yellow variation of ''Ceratosoma brevicaudatum'' at Fly Point, Port Stephens,

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Ceratosoma brevicaudatum 2.jpg, ''Ceratosoma brevicaudatum'' Ceratosoma brevicaudatum.jpg, ''Ceratosoma brevicaudatum''

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3664996 Chromodorididae Gastropods described in 1876