Noumea flava
Encyclopedia
Noumea flava 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 colorful 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 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 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 was originally described from East Africa, but it has an Indo-West Pacific distribution.

Description

This species is usually less than 2 inches in length. It has a yellow body with an identifying red mantle margin which has two semi-permanent mantle folds about mid-body. The rhinophores and branchia (gills) are yellow. Identifying individual yellow sea slugs within the genus Noumea can be challenging because yellow forms exist in several related species.

Ecology

This species is often found on the yellow sponge Hyrtios, which appears to be its preferred food source.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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