Pierre's armina, Armina sp., 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...

, a 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...

. It is 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...

 Arminidae

Arminidae

Arminidae is a family of sea slugs, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Arminoidea.- Taxonomy :The Arminidae family is classified within the clade Cladobranchia, itself belonging to the clade Nudibranchia .This family has been renamed several times...

. This species remained undescribed by science as at November 2009.

Distribution

This species has to date only been found off South Africa, in False Bay off Windmill Beach, in at least 10 m of water. It appears to be endemic.

Description

Pierre's armina grows up to 70 mm in length. It is a black-bodied nudibranch with raised white longitudinal ridges. The edge of the mantle is yellow and the foot is pinkish with a yellow margin. It has small ridged rhinophore

Rhinophore

A rhinophore is one of a pair of club-shaped structures which are the most prominent part of the external head anatomy of a group of sea slugs, marine gastropod opisthobranch mollusks in the order Nudibranchia, the nudibranchs, specifically the dorid nudibranchs.- Etymology :The name relates to the...

s, which are close together at their base.

Ecology

Pierre's armina burrows in sand and feeds on the purple sea pen

Sea pen

Sea pens are colonial marine cnidarians belonging to the order Pennatulacea. There are 14 families within the order; they are thought to have a cosmopolitan distribution in tropical and temperate waters worldwide...

, Actinoptylum molle.

External links

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• http://wikitravel.org/en/Diving_the_Cape_Peninsula_and_False_Bay/Windmill_Beach