Whip fan nudibranch

The whip fan nudibranch, scientific name Tritonia nilsodhneri, is a species of dendronotid nudibranch. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Tritoniidae.

whip fan nudibranch
white individual of Tritonia nilsodhneri
well camouflaged Tritonia nilsodhneri
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Mollusca
Class:
Gastropoda
(unranked):
clade Heterobranchia
clade Euthyneura
clade Nudipleura
clade Nudibranchia
clade Dexiarchia
clade Cladobranchia
clade Dendronotida
Superfamily:
Tritonioidea
Family:
Tritoniidae
Genus:
Tritonia
Species:
T. nilsodhneri
Binomial name
Tritonia nilsodhneri
Marcus, 1983

The specific name nilsodhneri is in honor of Swedish malacologist Nils Hjalmar Odhner.

Distribution

This species is found in the north Atlantic Ocean off the United Kingdom, Ireland and France. It is also found off South Africa. Around the South African coast it is found on both sides of the Cape Peninsula. It is known from 10–30 m.[1]

Description
Camouflage: the whip fan nudibranch and its egg ribbon

The whip fan nudibranch is a well-camouflaged animal which mimics the gorgonians on which it feeds. It is a small nudibranch, reaching 30 mm. Its branched rhinophores extend from cup-like sheaths. Paired branching projections down the length of the body resemble the feeding polyps of its prey species of sea fan.[2]

Ecology
The egg ribbon

The whip fan nudibranch feeds on gorgonians of the genus Eunicella. It lays a thin zigzag spiral of eggs around the main axis of these sea fans. The egg mass is also coloured to match the gorgonians.

gollark: Too hard to sandbox.
gollark: No.
gollark: Yes.
gollark: Rust has that.
gollark: SIGSEGV

References
  1. GOSLINER, T.M. 1987. Nudibranchs of Southern Africa ISBN 0-930118-13-8
  2. ZSILAVECZ, G. 2007. Nudibranchs of the Cape Peninsula and False Bay. ISBN 0-620-38054-3


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