Tritonia khaleesi
| Tritonia khaleesi | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| (unranked): | clade Heterobranchia clade Euthyneura |
| Superfamily: | Tritonioidea |
| Family: | Tritoniidae |
| Genus: | Tritonia |
| Species: | T. khaleesi |
| Binomial name | |
| Tritonia khaleesi (de Vasconcelos Silva et al., 2013)[1] | |
Tritonia khaleesi is a species of sea slug, a dendronotid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Tritoniidae.
T. khaleesi was discovered off north-east Brazil in the South Atlantic Ocean and first described in 2013.
Description
This species is up to 12 millimetres (0.47 in) long, with a slender white body, whose notum features a broad white band between the eyes and the tail. It is the only known Tritonia with an unicuspid rachidian tooth in adult form.[1]
Etymology
The species is named after the title "Khaleesi" used by the fictional character Daenerys Targaryen in the fantasy novel series A Song of Ice and Fire. The discoverers chose the name because the silver-colored band on the back of the slug reminded them of the pale blond hair of the character as played by Emilia Clarke in the television adaptation Game of Thrones.[2]
References
- 1 2 Silva, F. D. V.; Azevedo, V. M. D.; Matthews-Cascon, H. (2013). "A new species of Tritonia (Opisthobranchia: Nudibranchia: Tritoniidae) from the tropical South Atlantic Ocean". Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom: 1. doi:10.1017/S0025315413001586.
- ↑ Hudson, Laura. "Newly Discovered Sea Slug Named After Game of Thrones Character". Underwire. Wired. Retrieved 21 December 2013.