| Mandela's nudibranch Mandelia mirocornata |
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| A close-up of an individual of Mandela mirocornata showing gill rosette | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| (unranked): | clade Heterobranchia clade Euthyneura |
| Superfamily: | Phyllidioidea |
| Family: | Mandeliidae |
| Genus: | Mandelia |
| Species: | M. mirocornata |
| Binomial name | |
| Mandelia mirocornata Valdés & Gosliner, 1999 |
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Mandela's nudibranch, Mandelia mirocornata, is a species of sea slug, a dorid nudibranch. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Mandeliidae.
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This species has so far only been found around the southern African coast from the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula[1] to Port Elizabeth in 10-400 m of water. It is probably endemic.[2]
Mandela's nudibranch has a bumpy dirty white to brown skin. It has black spots scattered over the notum. Its gills and rhinophores are large and creamy-coloured. The rhinophores are perfoliate, but are oblong rather than round. The animal may also have irregular brown stripes rather than spots on the notum, radiating out to the margins. It may reach a total length of 70 mm.[3]
This species feeds on sponges.
Mandeliamirocornata at nudipixel [1]