Fireworks nudibranch
Encyclopedia
The fireworks nudibranch, Eubranchus sp. 4, as designated by Zsilavecz, 2007, 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...

 or 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 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 mollusc in the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 Eubranchidae
Eubranchidae
Eubranchidae is a taxonomic family of sea slugs, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Aeolidioidea, the aeolid nudibranchs.-Genera and species:Genera and species within the family Eubranchidae include:* Baeolidia...

. It is an aeolid nudibranch, which is known to occur off the South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

n coast. As at August 2010, it remained undescribed
Undescribed taxon
In taxonomy, an undescribed taxon is a taxon that has been discovered, but not yet formally described and named. The various Nomenclature Codes specify the requirements for a new taxon to be validly described and named. Until such a description has been published, the taxon has no formal or...

 by science.

Distribution

This species has to date only been found off South Africa, near Vulcan Rock, south of Hout Bay
Hout Bay
Hout Bay is the name of a coastal suburb of Cape Town, South Africa with a mix of neighbourhoods from the very rich to the very poor. It lies in a valley on the Atlantic Seaboard of the Cape Peninsula and is twenty kilometres south of the Central Business District of Cape Town...

, off Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...

 in at least 18m of water. It appears to be endemic.

Description

This is a rather small nudibranch, reaching 15 mm in total length. It is slender and white-bodied, and it is covered with white to red yellow-tipped 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....

. The oral tentacles and rhinophores are white, smooth and short.
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