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Purple Edged Yellow Spot Slug

Ceratosoma tenue Abraham 1876

Ceratosoma tenue

provided by wikipedia EN

Ceratosoma tenue is a species of colourful dorid nudibranch, a sea slug, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae.[2]

Distribution

This sea slug is widespread throughout the tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific area, from the oriental African coast to Hawaii.[3]

Description

Ceratosoma tenue can grow to a maximal size of 12 centimetres (4.7 in) length. The body colouration is extremely variable but is always composed of bright colours. However, the body colouration is not a valuable criterion of determination for this species because it can easily be confused with Ceratosoma tribolatum. The physical distinctive criteria are three mantle lobes on the first half of the body on each side and the purple margin of the mantle and foot is a dotted line. Another specificity of many species of Ceratosoma is the kind of "horn" covering the gills, which is like a lure and acts as a defensive chemical weapon that will scare any potential predator who dares to bite this part.[3] The gills and the rhinophores are retractile in internal sheaths.[4]

Behavior

Ceratosoma tenue serving as commensal host to an Emperor Shrimp (Periclimenes imperator)

Ceratosoma tenue is active all time and has a diurnal activity.[3]

Feeding

Ceratosoma tenue feeds on sponges of the genus Dysidea.[4]

References

  1. ^ Abraham, P. S. (1876). "Notes on some genera of nudibranchiate Mollusca, with notices of a new genus and some hitherto undescribed species, in the collection of the British Museum". Annals & Magazine of Natural History. 4 (18): 132–146. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  2. ^ "Ceratosoma tenue Abraham, 1876". MolluscaBase. 2018. Archived from the original on 2022-06-01. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  3. ^ a b c Bidgrain, P. (2019). "Ceratosoma tenue". Sea Slugs of the Indian Ocean. Archived from the original on 2013-09-09. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  4. ^ a b Rudman, W.B. (1999-09-29). "Ceratosoma tenue Abraham, 1876". Sea Slug Forum. Sydney: Australian Museum. Archived from the original on 2022-06-01. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
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Ceratosoma tenue: Brief Summary

provided by wikipedia EN

Ceratosoma tenue is a species of colourful dorid nudibranch, a sea slug, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae.

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Wikipedia authors and editors
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visit source
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wikipedia EN

Description

provided by World Register of Marine Species
Up to 7 cm long (W Indian Ocean specimens). A distinctive species with obvious, enlarged dorsal protuberances on the mantle which contain a concentration of defensive glands. These are prominent to lure predators away from the vital gills and rhinophores, and are a distinguishing feature of the genus. Colour pinky orange with yellow spots, occassionally olive-green, always with violet margins. Habitat: diverse, among shallow coral reefs. Distribution: W Indian Ocean, Red Sea to W Pacific Ocean. In the region C. tenue often coexists with C. trilobatum (Richmond, 1997). Distribution: also known from South-East Asia and tropical Australia (Rudman, 1988).

Reference

Rudman, W. B. (1988). The Chromodorididae (Opisthobranchia: Mollusca) of the Indo-West Pacific: the genus Ceratosoma J.E. Gray. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 93(1): 133-185.

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