Dendronotus dalli explained

Dendronotus dalli is a species of sea slug, a dendronotid nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusc in the family Dendronotidae.^[1]

Distribution

This species was described from the Bering Sea. It can be found along the west coast of North America from the Bering Sea, Alaska to Puget Sound, Washington.^{[2] [3]} Similar looking animals from the White Sea and Barents Sea, North Atlantic have been demonstrated to be a distinct species, Dendronotus niveus.^[4]

Diet

Dendronotus dalli feeds on the hydroids Abietinaria rigida and Abietinaria amphora, family Sertulariidae.^[5]

Notes and References

1. Bouchet, P. (2015). Dendronotus dalli. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2016-01-28.
2. Rudman, W.B., 2000 (October 25) Dendronotus dalli Bergh 1879. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.
3. Behrens, D. W., & Hermosillo, A. (2005) Eastern Pacific nudibranchs, a guide to the opisthobranchs from Alaska to Central America. vi + 137 pp., 314 photos. Sea Challengers, Monterey, California, page 93.
4. Ekimova, I.; Korshunova, T.; Schepetov, D.; Neretina, T.; Sanamyan, N.; Martynov, A. (2015). Integrative systematics of northern and Arctic nudibranchs of the genus Dendronotus (Mollusca, Gastropoda), with descriptions of three new species. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 173(4): 841-886.
5. Robilliard, G.A. (1970). The systematics and some aspects of the ecology of the genus Dendronotus. The Veliger, 12: 433–479, page 452..