Okenia angelica explained

Okenia angelica is a species of sea slug, specifically a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Goniodorididae.[1]

Distribution

This species was described from Bahía de los Ángeles, Baja California with additional specimens from Isla Cedros on the Pacific Ocean coast of Baja California and Bahía de Banderas, Jalisco, Mexico.

Description

This Okenia has a broad body and seven to nine pairs of curved lateral papillae. The body is brown grading to purple with an opaque white patch covering most of the back. In front of the gills there are raised purple spots surrounded by orange-brown pigment within an area of pale brown.[2] The papillae and rhinophores may be tipped with light orange pigment.

Ecology

The diet of this species is probably an encrusting bryozoan.[3]

Notes and References

  1. Bouchet, P. (2015). Okenia angelica Gosliner & Bertsch, 2004. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2015-10-20
  2. Brenna Green, 2009. Okenia angelica. Photo on Flickr
  3. Bertsch, H., 2005. Okenia angelica. Slug site nudibranch of the week, 448