Doto amyra, or the hammerhead doto, 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 very small or minute sea slug

Sea slug

Sea slug is a common name used for several different groups of saltwater snails that either lack a shell or have only an internal shell, in other words this name is used for various lineages of marine gastropod mollusks that are either not conchiferous or appear not to be.The phrase "sea slug" is...

, a dendronotacean 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 Dotidae

Dotidae

Dotidae are a taxonomic family of small sea slugs, nudibranchs, shell-less marine gastropod molluscs in the order Opisthobranchia.This family has also been spelled in the past as "Dotonidae" and "Dotoidae"...

.

Description

This nudibranch reaches a maximum size of 14 mm, but commonly it is under 10 mm in adult size.

The body is colorless, but the cerata

Cerata

Cerata are anatomical structures found in nudibranch sea slugs, marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusks.They are dorsal and lateral outgrowths on the upper surfaces of the body....

 are colored due to the digestive glands inside them. The color of the digestive gland can be creamy yellow to orange-red to brown, depending on the color of the hydroids that an individual specimen has been eating.

External links

• Sea Slug Forum, species factsheet: http://www.seaslugforum.net/showall.cfm?base=dotoamyr
• Slug Site: http://slugsite.us/bow/nudwk330.htm