Triopha catalinae
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| Sea clown triopha | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Phylum: | |
| Class: | |
| (unranked): | clade Heterobranchia
clade Euthyneura |
| Superfamily: | |
| Family: | |
| Subfamily: | |
| Genus: | |
| Species: | T. catalinae
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| Binomial name | |
| Triopha catalinae (Cooper, 1863)
| |
Triopha catalinae, commonly known as the sea clown triopha or sea clown, is a species of colorful sea slug called a nudibranch. Sea clowns are a shell-less marine, gastronomic mollusk in the taxonomic family Polyceridae.
The species' Latin name is named after Santa Catalina Island, California.
Distribution[edit]
This species lives in the Western Pacific from Alaska to Mexico, and has also been found in Japan and South Korea.[1][2]
Life habits[edit]
This nudibranch grazes on bryozoans.[2]
Triopha catalinae on red coralline algae in a tide pool in Central California
References[edit]
- ^ Berhrens, D. W., 1980, Pacific Coast Nudibranchs: A guide to the opisthobranchs of the northeastern Pacific, Sea Challenger Books, Washington.
- ^ a b Triopha catalinae (Cooper, 1863) Archived 16 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine Sea Slug Forum, accessed 17 July 2009.
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Triopha catalinae.
- SEM images of the radula can be found at Thompson, T.E.; Bebbington, A. (1973). "Scanning electron microscope studies of gastropod radulae". Malacologia. 14: 147–165.