Kalinga ornata

Kalinga ornata
Kalinga ornata
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
(unranked): clade Heterobranchia

clade Euthyneura
clade Nudipleura
clade Nudibranchia
clade Euctenidiacea
clade Doridacea

Superfamily: Polyceroidea
Family: Polyceridae
Subfamily: Kalinginae
Genus: Kalinga
Alder & Hancock[1]
Species: K. ornata
Binomial name
Kalinga ornata
Alder & Hancock, 1864

Kalinga ornata is a species of large, colorful nudibranch in the family Polyceridae. It is the only species in the genus Kalinga, and is the type genus of the subfamily Kalinginae.

Distribution

Kalinga ornata resides in the deep coastal waters of the Indo-West Pacific (though it has also been reported from Hawaii).[2][3] While it occasionally washes up in shallow regions, live individuals have been observed by divers at a depth of 6 m,[4] they have been trawled from depths of 76 m,[5] and observed by an ROV at a depth of 182 m.[3]

Description

Kalinga ornata is nocturnal, reaching sizes of at least 130 mm, and prefers sandy or silty substrate, but little else is known about its biology. [2][4][6]

A close up of Kalinga ornata's naked gill. This photo was taken at a famous diving spot named '82.5K' along the northeast coast TAIWAN at the depth of 15 meters.

References

  1. ↑ Alder J. & Hancock A. (1864). "Notice of a collection of nudibranchiate mollusca made in India by Walter Elliot Esq. with descriptions of several new genera and species". Trans. zool. Soc. London 5: 113-147. Kalinga ornata is on the page 134.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Rudman, W. B. "The Sea Slug Forum - Kalinga ornata." The Sea Slug Forum. Accessed 5 June 2010. http://www.seaslugforum.net/kaliorna.htm.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "The Sea Slug Forum - Kalinga ornata from deepwater off Hawaii." The Sea Slug Forum. Accessed 5 June 2010. http://www.seaslugforum.net/message/6768.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Gosliner, Terry. "Nudi of the Week is Kalinga ornata." The Slug Site. Accessed 5 June 2010. http://slugsite.us/bow/nudwk119.htm.
  5. ↑ "The Sea Slug Forum - Kalinga ornata from Hong Kong." The Sea Slug Forum. Accessed 5 June 2010. http://www.seaslugforum.net/message/6028.
  6. ↑ Gosliner, Terry. "Two New Species of Sea Slugs, a Great Start - Scientist at Work Blog - NYTimes.com." Accessed 5 June 2010. http://scientistatwork.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/19/two-new-species-of-sea-slugs-a-great-start/.