''Flabellina engeli'' 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 engeli'' Ev. Marcus & Er. Marcus, 1968.
In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2015-10-26

Subspecies

A subspecies has been described from colder water in Brazil as ''Flabellina engeli lucianae'' Dacosta, Cunha, Simone & Schrödl, 2007.

Distribution

This species was described from Curaçao. It has been reported from

Tobago Tobago () is an List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, island and Regions and municipalities of Trinidad and Tobago, ward within the Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located northeast of the larger island of Trini ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

,Rudman W. B. (2001, October 8)
''Flabellina engeli'' Marcus & Marcus, 1968.
''Sea Slug Forum''. Australian Museum, Sydney. Costa Rica, Colombia, Venezuela, Barbados, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Curaçao, St. Lucia, Martinique, Granada, Brazil and Panama.

Description

Body is elongate, narrowing posteriorly.

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 ...

are lamellate, club-shaped and with white bands.

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 ...

are arranged into clusters in two rows along the dorsum. Background color is translucent gray with thick white or yellow patches running between the cerata clusters, on the margin of the dorsum. A submarginal row of opaque white spots present along the sides of the body. Three white or yellow patches are on the head. Oral tentacles are long, translucent and white at the tips. Cerata are translucent with a brown or orange band about a third of the way down from the tip. The maximum recorded body length is 25 mm.Welch J. J. (2010). "The “Island Rule” and Deep-Sea Gastropods: Re-Examining the Evidence". '' PLoS ONE'' 5(1): e8776. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0008776.

Ecology

One specimen was found on a living blade of sea grass in 1 m of water in Panama. Minimum recorded depth is 1 m. Maximum recorded depth is 2 m.

References

This article incorporates Creative Commons (CC-BY-4.0) text from the referenceGoodheart J. A., Ellingson R. A., Vital X. G., Galvão Filho H. C., McCarthy J. B., Medrano S. M., Bhave V. J., García-Méndez K., Jiménez L. M., López G. & Hoover C. A. (2016). "Identification guide to the heterobranch sea slugs (Mollusca: Gastropoda) from Bocas del Toro, Panama". ''Marine Biodiversity Records'' 9(1): 56.

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3141011 Flabellinidae Gastropods described in 1968 Taxa named by Eveline Du Bois-Reymond Marcus Taxa named by Ernst Marcus (zoologist)