Jorunna parva
| Jorunna parva | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Jorunna parva | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| (unranked): | clade Heterobranchia clade Euthyneura |
| Superfamily: | Doridoidea |
| Family: | Discodorididae |
| Genus: | Jorunna |
| Species: | J. parva |
| Binomial name | |
| Jorunna parva (Baba, 1938)[1] | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
|
Thordisa parva Baba, 1938 | |
Jorunna parva is a species of sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusc in the family Discodorididae. The species was first described by Kikutaro Baba.[2] The resemblance of Jorunna parva's rhinophores to bunny ears and its other features facilitated a surge in popularity on Twitter throughout Japan in 2015.[3] Sea slugs eat sponges, which contain toxins. Those toxins are used for cancer treatments.
Distribution
This species was described from Kii Province, Japan. Jorunna parva has subsequently been reported from the Philippines, Tanzania, Papua New Guinea, Seychelles and Réunion but there are some doubts as to whether it is really a species complex.[4]
References
- ↑ Baba, K. (1938) Opisthobranchia of Kii, Middle Japan. Journal of the Dept of Agriculture, Kyushu Imperial University, 6(1): 1-19.
- 1 2 Bouchet, P. (2010). Jorunna parva (Baba, 1938). World Register of Marine Species.
- ↑ Kearns, Landess (July 15, 2015). "Fluffy Bunny Sea Slugs Make Us Want To Cuddle Them". Huffington Post.
- ↑ Rudman, W.B., 2000 (July 4) Jorunna parva? (Baba, 1938). [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.