Babakina Explained

Babakina is a genus of sea slugs, aeolid nudibranchs, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Flabellinoidea.^[1] The genus is named after the Japanese malacologist Kikutaro Baba (1905-2001).^[2]

Taxonomy

Babakina is in the subfamily Babakininae within the family Flabellinidae in the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, (2005). Babakina is the type genus of the subfamily Babakininae.

Gosliner et al. (2007) have elevated Babakinidae to the family level with the only genus Babakina.

Species

There are four species within the genus Babakina:

• Babakina anadoni (Ortea, 1979)
• Babakina caprinsulensis (Miller, 1974)
• Babakina festiva (Roller, 1972) - type species
• Babakina indopacifica Gosliner, Gonzáles-Duarte & Cervera, 2007^[3]

In 2022 Babakina anadoni was found off the coast of the Isles of Scilly. Previously this rare 2cm long species was only known from a handful of specimens found along the west coast of Spain and further south in the Atlantic.^[4]

Notes and References

1. Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S. (2011). Babakina Roller, 1973. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=181255 on 2012-06-03
2. Web site: BABAKINE D'ANADON . Données d'Observations pour la Reconnaissance et l'Identification de la faune et la flore Subaquatiques . DORIS . 5 August 2022.
3. Gosliner T. M., Gonzáles-Duarte M. M. & Cervera J. L. (2007). "Revision of the systematics of Babakina Roller, 1973 (Mollusca: Opisthobranchia) with the description of a new species and a phylogenetic analysis". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 151(4): 671–689. .
4. Web site: Horton . Helena . 4 August 2022 . Rare coloured sea slug spotted in British waters for first time . https://web.archive.org/web/20220804205132/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/aug/04/rare-coloured-sea-slug-spotted-in-british-waters-for-first-time . 4 August 2022 . 4 August 2022 . The Guardian . en.