Diversidoris flava explained

Diversidoris flava is a yellow species of sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusk in the family Chromodorididae.^[1]

Distribution

This nudibranch was originally described from East Africa, but it has an Indo-West Pacific distribution including Australia (Queensland) and Hawaii.^[2]

Description

This species is usually less than 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 Diversidoris can be challenging because yellow forms exist in several related species.^{[3] [4]}

Ecology

This species is often found on the yellow sponge Hyrtios, which appears to be its preferred food source.^[5]

Notes and References

1. MolluscaBase (2018). Diversidoris crocea (Rudman, 1986). Accessed on 2019-01-31.
2. Rudman, W.B., 2000 (May 21) Noumea flava (Eliot, 1904). [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.
3. Rudman, W.B., 2001 (March 29) Noumea flava Colour Group. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.
4. Marshall, J.G. & Willan, R.C. 1999. Nudibranchs of Heron Island, Great Barrier Reef. Leiden : Backhuys 257 pp.
5. Pittman, C. & Fiene, P., 2017. Diversidoris flava Sea Slugs of Hawaii, accessed 2019-01-31.