Chelidonura hirundinina

Chelidonura hirundinina is a species of small and colorful aglajid sea slug, a shell-less opisthobranch gastropod mollusk in the family Aglajidae.[1]

Chelidonura hirundinina
Chelinodura hirundinina
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Mollusca
Class:
Gastropoda
(unranked):
clade Heterobranchia
clade Euthyneura
clade Euopisthobranchia
clade Cephalaspidea
Superfamily:
Philinoidea
Family:
Aglajidae
Genus:
Chelidonura
Species:
C. hirundinina
Binomial name
Chelidonura hirundinina
(Quoy & Gaimard, 1833)
Synonyms[1]
  • Bulla hirundinina Quoy & Gaimard, 1833 (basionym)
  • Chelidonura philinopsis Eliot, 1903
  • Chelidonura adamsi G.F. Angas, 1867
  • Chelidonura elegans L.S.R. Bergh, 1900

The variety Chelidonura hirundinina var. punctata Eliot, 1903 has been elevated to the species Chelidonura punctata Eliot, 1903

Despite its colorful appearance, this is not a species of nudibranch; it is a cephalaspidean, a headshield slug. This is a tropical species which lives in the western Indo-Pacific, and also in the Caribbean Sea.

Description

This species has a maximum size of 40 mm, but is often smaller than that. The background color can be red, orange, dark brown, or black. There are blue, black, and orange stripes on the body, and there is a white marking towards the posterior end of the animal.

The two rather long "tails" at the end of the animal are characteristic of the genus Chelidonura. They have also well-developed sensory cilia on the anterior edge of the head which are used to find the prey.

The specific epithet hirundinina is Latin, meaning "little swallow", in reference to this swallow-tailed appearance.

Life habits

This species eats flatworms and has a diurnal activity.

  • Mating nudibranchs
  • A pair of mating Chelidonura hirundinina in Kona, Hawaii
  • A ball of mating Chelidonura hirundinina, Kona, Hawaii
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References
  1. Rosenberg, G. (2011). Chelidonura hirundinina (Quoy & Gaimard, 1833). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=420528 on 2012-05-17
  • Rosenberg, G., F. Moretzsohn, and E. F. García. 2009. Gastropoda (Mollusca) of the Gulf of Mexico, Pp. 579–699 in Felder, D.L. and D.K. Camp (eds.), Gulf of Mexico–Origins, Waters, and Biota. Biodiversity. Texas A&M Press, College Station, Texas.

Books
  • Valdez, Hamann, Berhrens & DuPont, 2006, Caribbean sea slugs: a field guide to the opisthobranch mollusks from the tropical northwestern Atlantic, Sea Challengers Natural History Books, Washington
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