Doto amyra explained

Doto amyra, or the hammerhead doto, is a species of very small or minute sea slug, a nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusk in the family Dotidae.^[1]

Distribution

This species occurs from Alaska to Baja California, Mexico.

Description

This nudibranch reaches a maximum size of 14 mm, but commonly it is under 10 mm in adult size.^[2]

The body is colourless, but the cerata are coloured due to the digestive glands inside them. The colour of the digestive gland can be creamy yellow to orange-red to brown, depending on the colour of the hydroids that an individual specimen has been eating.^[3]

Notes and References

1. Rosenberg, G. (2015). Doto amyra Er. Marcus, 1961. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2015-12-28
2. Behrens, David W., 1980, Pacific Coast Nudibranchs: a guide to the opisthobranchs of the northeastern Pacific, Sea Challenger Books, Washington.
3. Ken-ichi Ueda, 2015. Photo and discussion on Flickr
4. McDonald, G., 2015. Intertidal Invertebrates of the Monterey Bay Area, California.
5. Behrens, D. (2002) Doto amyra In: Miller M. The Slug Site, accessed 28-12-2015.
6. Goddard, J.H.R. 1996. Lecithotrophic development in Doto amyra (Nudibranchia: Dendronotacea), with a review of developmental mode in the genus. The Veliger 39(1):43-54.
7. Rudman, W.B., 2002 (April 17) Doto amyra Marcus, 1961. Discussion. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. This may be evidence of a species complex rather than a single species.^[5] It in unusual in having a form of development where the eggs are large compared with most Doto species and therefore larvae which settle after only a few days in the plankton.^[6]

   References

8. Rudman, W.B., 2002 (April 17) Doto amyra Marcus, 1961. Factsheet. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Compared with Doto kya and Doto columbiana this species lacks any dark pigment on the body.^{[3] [4]}

   Ecology

   This nudibranch feeds on hydroids. It has been reported apparently feeding on a variety of species including Garveia sp., Bougainvilliidae, Abietinaria spp., Sertulariidae as well as a plumulariid hydroid.^[5]