Doris januarii explained

Doris januarii is a species of sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Dorididae.^[1]

Taxonomic history

This species was described by Rudolph Bergh in 1878 but considered to be a synonym of Doris verrucosa by von Ihering, 1886^[2] and subsequent authors. A detailed anatomical comparison of these species concluded that they were distinct species.^[3]

Distribution

This species occurs on the Atlantic Ocean coast of Brazil, from Pernambuco to São Paulo.

Ecology

This species lives at depths up to 12 m in the rocky subtidal region, near areas covered by the encrusting sponge Hymeniacidon heliophila (Parker, 1910) during the reproductive season.^[4]

Notes and References

1. Bouchet, P. (2015). Doris januarii (Bergh, 1878). In: MolluscaBase (2016). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2016-12-07.
2. Ihering H. von (1886). Zur kenntnis der Nudibranchien der brasilianischen kuste. Jahrbücher der Deutschen Malakozoologischen Gesellschaft 13 (3): 223-240
3. Lima P.O.V. & Simone L.R.L. (2015). Anatomical review of Doris verrucosa and redescription of Doris januarii (Gastropoda, Nudibranchia) based on comparative morphology. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. DOI: 10.1017/S0025315415000296I.
4. Martins T.K., Pires M.M., Lima A.S., Cavalheri H.B. and Vieira T.B. (2010) Uso de sinais químicos por Doris verrucosa (Mollusca:Nudibranchia) para seleção de locais para ovoposição. Universidade de São Paulo, Occasional Publication, 1–3.