Hypselodoris marci 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....

.

Distribution

This nudibranch is found in the Western Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

 and the Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

 from Brazil to Venezuela.

Description

Hypselodoris marci has a golden-brown body covered with many small blue or black spots. It has a white or pale orange mantle. The gills and rhinophores are also white or pale orange, the gills outlined with and the rhinophores tipped with a black-blue colour. There is some colour variation between individuals in this species.

The maximum recorded length is 52 mm.

External links

• Hypselodoris marci page at nudipixel