Dendronotus iris 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 dorid 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 Dendronotidae

Dendronotidae

Dendronotidae is a family of sea slugs, nudibranchs, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Tritonioidea.This family is within the clade Cladobranchia .-Description:...

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Distribution

This animal can be found along the west coast of North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 from Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

 to Baja California

Baja California

Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...

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Description

Dendronotus iris can grow to about 30 cm but is usually about 10 cm. The colour of this species is highly variable. It can range from translucent white or gray, to orange or red. It can also have white spots or scattered brownish patches. Distinctive features include the stalk of the rhinophore sheath having a vertical row of three to six small branched processes on its posterior side, and the foot being edged in white, although this may be partially absent in some specimens. The oral veil has four paired processes. The branching gills may be tipped with white, orange, yellow, or purple.

Further reading

• Robilliard G. A. (1970) "The systematics and some aspects of the ecology of the genus Dendronotus". The Veliger 12(4): 433-479.
• Wobber Don R. (1970) "A report on the feeding of Dendronotus iris on the anthozoan Cerianthus sp. from Monterey Bay, California". The Veliger 12(4): 383-387, plates 55-57.