Hypselodoris dollfusi 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 colourful 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 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 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

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...

 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....

. After being described initially in 1933 by Pruvot-Fol

Alice Pruvot-Fol

Alice Pruvot-Fol was a French opisthobranch malacologist.She was the author of many new species, mostly described on the basis of preserved animals....

, this species was not seen again until its rediscovery in 2000.

Distribution

This nudibranch is found in the Gulf of Suez

Gulf of Suez

The northern end of the Red Sea is bifurcated by the Sinai Peninsula, creating the Gulf of Suez in the west and the Gulf of Aqaba to the east. The Gulf of Suez is formed within a relatively young, but now inactive rift basin, the Gulf of Suez Rift, dating back about 28 million years...

, the Gulf of Aquaba and the Northern Indian Ocean

Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...

.

Description

Hypselodoris dollfusi has a white body and a yellow edged mantle. There are very prominent red-ringed purple spots on its dorsum. The gills and rhinophores are white, lined with red. There are slight colour variations among individuals in this species.

This nudibranch can reach a total length of at least 50 mm.

External links

• Hypselodoris dollfusi page at nudipixel