''Edmundsella vansyoci'' 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 time ...

, 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 match, ...

, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family

Flabellinidae Flabellinidae is a taxonomic family of brightly coloured sea slugs, specifically nudibranchs, marine gastropod mollusk Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known a ...

.Bouchet, P. (2015)
''Flabellina vansyoci'' Gosliner, 1994.
In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2015-10-27

Distribution

This species is reported from the Pacific coast of

central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

from Punta Eugenia,

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

to Costa Rica.Rudman, W.B., 2005 (November 17
''Flabellina vansyoci'' Gosliner, 1994.
n/nowiki> Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.

Description

The body colour of ''Edmundsella vansyoci'' varies from pink to reddish pink. There are opaque white spots on the outer surfaces of the

cerata :''The tortrix moth genus ''Cerata'' is considered a junior synonym of ''Cydia. Cerata, singular ceras, are anatomical structures found externally in nudibranch sea slugs, especially in aeolid nudibranchs, marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusks ...

. 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 ha ...

and oral tentacles are tinged with purple and have translucent tips. Externally ''Edmundsella vansyoci'' and '' Orienthella fogata'' can be separated by the location of the anus, which is in the middle of the inter-hepatic space in ''E. vansyoci'' and posterior, under the first or second post-hepatic ceras in ''O. fogata''. These two species can also be distinguished by their

cnidosac A cnidosac is an anatomical feature that is found in the group of sea slugs known as aeolid nudibranchs, a clade of marine opisthobranch gastropod molluscs. A cnidosac contains cnidocytes, stinging cells that are also known as cnidoblasts or n ...

s, which are translucent white in ''O. fogata'' and pink in ''E. vansyoci''.Millen S. & Hermosillo A. (2007) The genus ''Flabellina'' Voight, 1834 (Mollusca: Opisthobranchia) from Bahia de Banderas (Pacific coast of Mexico) with ecological observations, the description of a new species, and the redescription of ''Flabellina cynara''. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences ser.4, 58(26): 543-559. page(s): 554 The maximum length of this species is 30 mm. The description of ''Orienthella fogata'' includes a table comparing similar species from Mexico.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5456569 Flabellinidae Gastropods described in 1994