Aldisa cooperi

Aldisa cooperi
Aldisa cooperi, head end towards the bottom of this image
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
(unranked): clade Heterobranchia

clade Euthyneura
clade Nudipleura
clade Nudibranchia
clade Euctenidiacea
clade Doridacea

Superfamily: Doridoidea
Family: Cadlinidae
Genus: Aldisa
Species: A. cooperi
Binomial name
Aldisa cooperi
(Robilliard & Baba, 1972)[1]
Synonyms
  • Aldisa sanguinea Baba, 1940
  • Aldisa sanguinea cooperi Robilliard & Baba, 1972
  • Aldisa cooperi (Robilliard & Baba, 1972)
  • Aldisa cooperi (Robilliard & Baba, 1972) Bertsch & Johnson, 1982

Aldisa cooperi is a species of sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Cadlinidae.

Distribution

This demersal nudibranch is found in cold to temperate waters, from the intertidal to subtidal zones (up to a depth of 20 m), along the Pacific coast of North America, from California to Alaska. It has also been reported from the coasts of Japan and Korea.

Description

Cooper's aldisa is a small dorid nudibranch, growing to a length of 25 mm. Its mantle has a yellow to orange color, with some black spots spread over it. It has a smooth body covered with sparse, low tubercles and gills clustered on the posterior part of its body. It lays its eggs in ribbons.[2]

Conservation status

The vulnerability of this species is low to moderate, but it is not listed in the IUCN Red List.

Ecology

It is usually found nestled in its food sponge Anthoarcuata graciae.[3] This sponge is currently classified as a member of the genus Antho, family Clathriidae, but may actually belong to the family Hymedesmiidae as other Aldisa species specialise on sponges from this family. [4]

References

  1. Robilliard, G.A. & Baba K. (1972). "Aldisa sanguinea cooperi subsp. nov. from the coast of the state of Washington, with notes on its feeding and spawning habits (Nudibranchia, Dorididae, Aldisinae)". Pub. Seto Marine Biol. Lab., 19(6, March): 409-414.
  2. Rudman, W.B., 2000 (October 16) Aldisa cooperi Robilliard & Baba, 1972. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.
  3. Gustafson, K; Andersen, R. J. (1985). "Chemical studies of British Columbia nudibranchs". Tetrahedron. 41 (6): 1101–1108. doi:10.1016/S0040-4020(01)96478-6.
  4. Ayer, S.W.; Andersen, R.J. Steroidal antifeedants from the dorid nudibranch Aldisa sanguinea cooperi. Tetrahedron Lett. 1982, 23, 1039–1042.


Wikimedia Commons has media related to Aldisa cooperi.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/1/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.