Felimare bayeri

Felimare bayeri
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
(unranked): clade Heterobranchia
clade Euthyneura
clade Nudipleura
clade Nudibranchia
Superfamily: Doridoidea
Family: Chromodorididae
Genus: Felimare
Species: F. bayeri
Binomial name
Felimare bayeri
Ev. Marcus & Er. Marcus, 1967[1]
Synonyms[2]

Hypselodoris bayeri (Ev. Marcus & Er. Marcus, 1967)

Felimare bayeri is a species of colorful sea slug or dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Chromodorididae. It was described by Eveline and Ernst Marcus in 1967.[1]

Taxonomic history

Originally described as the only member of the new genus Felimare, it was subsequently transferred to Hypselodoris and Felimare was considered to be a synonym.[3] However in 2012 a thorough re-evaluation of the genera in the family Chromodorididae based on molecular data, DNA sequences, revealed several distinct clades and Felimare was resurrected for one of these. [4] Felimare is currently considered to be the genus to which all Atlantic Ocean Hypselodoris species belong including all the blue and yellow-striped species from the Caribbean and the Mediterranean Sea.

Distribution

This nudibranch is found in the Caribbean Sea[5] (Florida, Belize, Mexico, Panama and Cuba) and the Gulf of Mexico.[3]

Description

Dark blue in color with a series of yellow longitudinal lines, it exhibits purple-blue rhinophores and opaque white branchial leaves marked by dark rachises.[3] The foot's posterior end is blue with black spots and yellow lines.[3] The maximum recorded length is 60 mm.[6]

Ecology

This species feeds on a blue species of the sponge Dysidea.[5] It has been found at depths from 3 m.[6] to at least 18 m and possibly 70 m.[5]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Marcus, Ev. & Marcus, Er. "American Opisthobranch Mollusks." Studies in Tropical Oceanography 6:1967 pp. 62-64, figs. 76-79, pl. 1, fig. 2.
  2. ↑ Bouchet, P.; Caballer, M. (2012). Felimare bayeri. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=558625 on 2012-05-11
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Valdés, Ángel; Hamann, Jeff; Behrens, David W.; DuPont, Anne. Caribbean Sea Slugs, Sea Challengers Natural History Books, Etc., Gig Harbor, Washington 2006, pp. 158-159. ISBN 0-9700574-2-3
  4. ↑ Johnson R.F. & Gosliner T.M. (2012) Traditional taxonomic groupings mask evolutionary history: A molecular phylogeny and new classification of the chromodorid nudibranchs. PLoS ONE 7(4): e33479
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Rudman, W.B., 2005 (February 2) Hypselodoris bayeri (Marcus & Marcus, 1967). [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Welch J. J. (2010). "The "Island Rule" and Deep-Sea Gastropods: Re-Examining the Evidence". PLoS ONE 5(1): e8776. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0008776.