Chromodoris annae is a species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 of sea slug

Slug

Slug is a common name that is normally applied to any gastropod mollusc that lacks a shell, has a very reduced shell, or has a small internal shell...

, a very colorful nudibranch

Nudibranch

A nudibranch is a member of what is now a taxonomic clade, and what was previously a suborder, of soft-bodied, marine gastropod mollusks which shed their shell after their larval stage. They are noted for their often extraordinary colors and striking forms...

, a shell-less marine

Marine (ocean)

Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology...

 gastropod mollusk in the family Chromodorididae

Chromodorididae

Chromodorididae are a taxonomic family of medium-sized to large, colorful, sea slugs; dorid nudibranchs in the superfamily Doridoidea. These are marine gastropod mollusks....

.

Description

Chromodoris annae is blue with black longitudinal lines, and a white and orange mantle edge. The blue areas are flecked with tiny black dots. The colors can vary.
This species is similar in appearance to Chromodoris elisabethina

Chromodoris elisabethina

Chromodoris elisabethina is a species of very colorful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Chromodorididae....

although lacks that species' central black line on the upper mantle.

Distribution

This species of nudibranch is found in the Western Pacific Ocean from Malaysia and the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

 to the Marshall Islands

Marshall Islands

The Republic of the Marshall Islands , , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. As of July 2011 the population was 67,182...

.

External links

• Chromodoris annae at nudipixel http://www.nudipixel.net/species/chromodoris_annae/
• http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet.cfm?base=chroanna