Pleurobranchaea tarda
| Pleurobranchaea tarda | |
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| Species: | P. tarda
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| Binomial name | |
| Pleurobranchaea tarda Verrill, 1880
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Pleurobranchaea tarda, the dwarf warty pleurobranch, is a species of sea slug, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Pleurobranchaeidae.[1]
Distribution
[edit]This species is found on the Atlantic coast of North America and West Africa, as well as off the South African coast, from the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula to Knysna[2] intertidally to 60 m.[3]
Description
[edit]Pleurobranchaea tarda has an oval sandy-coloured body with a spade-shaped head and two widely separated rolled rhinophores. It has a single gill on the right hand side of its body and can grow to be 70 mm long. It may be confused with Pleurobranchaea bubala, which is bigger and has a rougher surface, but tends to live in shallower water.[4]
Ecology
[edit]It is an enthusiastic predator on other opisthobranchs; and has even been seen eating smaller individuals of the same species. Its egg ribbon forms a sizeable roll of several white loops.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ Rosenberg, G. (2015). Pleurobranchaea tarda. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=160478 on 2015-10-20
- ^ Gosliner, T. M. 1987. Nudibranchs of Southern Africa ISBN 0-930118-13-8
- ^ Zsilavecz, G. 2007. Nudibranchs of the Cape Peninsula and False Bay. ISBN 0-620-38054-3
- ^ Gosliner, T. M. 1987. Nudibranchs of Southern Africa ISBN 0-930118-13-8
- ^ Gosliner, T. M. 1987. Nudibranchs of Southern Africa ISBN 0-930118-13-8
- Abbott R. T. (1974) American seashells. The marine mollusca of the Atlantic and Pacific coast of North America. ed. 2. Van Nostrand, New York. 663 pp., 24 pls