The orange-clubbed nudibranch, Limacia clavigera, is a species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 of dorid

Doridacea

Doridacea is a taxonomic grouping of dorid nudibranchs, shell-less marine gastropod mollusks. included in the clade Euctenidiacea of the clade Nudibranchia.- Taxonomy :*Superfamily Doridoidea**Family Dorididae**Family Actinocyclidae...

 nudibranch

Nudibranch

A nudibranch is a member of what is now a taxonomic clade, and what was previously a suborder, of soft-bodied, marine gastropod mollusks which shed their shell after their larval stage. They are noted for their often extraordinary colors and striking forms...

. It is a marine

Marine (ocean)

Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology...

 gastropod mollusc in the family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 Polyceridae

Polyceridae

Polyceridae is a taxonomic family of sea slugs, dorid nudibranchs, marine gastropod mollusks within the Superfamily Polyceroidea.- Taxonomy :...

.

Distribution

It is commonly found in sublittoral algae belts along the Atlantic coast of Europe, including the British Isles, and from Norway to the Mediterranean. It is also found along the South African coast from Saldanha Bay to Port Alfred. It has been found from the intertidal zone to depths of at least 20 m.

Description

The orange-clubbed nudibranch is a small (up to 20 mm), white-bodied dorid with numerous orange-tipped projections on its body and orange spots on its notum

Notum

The notum is the dorsal portion of an insect's thoracic segment. It is typically a single large sclerite. It can be further divided into the alinotum which bears the wings and the postnotum which bears the phragma....

. Its gills and perfoliate rhinophores are orange-tipped.

Ecology

The orange-clubbed nudibranch feeds on the encrusting bryozoa

Bryozoa

The Bryozoa, also known as Ectoprocta or commonly as moss animals, are a phylum of aquatic invertebrate animals. Typically about long, they are filter feeders that sieve food particles out of the water using a retractable lophophore, a "crown" of tentacles lined with cilia...

n Electra pilosa as well as bryozoans of the genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 Membranipora

Membranipora

Membranipora is a genus of bryozoan in the family Membraniporidae. A typical example is the widely distributed species Membranipora membranacea that commonly encrusts seaweeds, particularly fronds of the kelps Laminaria digitata, L. hyperborea, and Saccorhiza polyschides.Colonies of M...

and is often seen on encrusted kelp. Its egg ribbon is a flat broad spiral of several coils.

External links

• Images of Limacia clavigera