Phestilla melanobrachia explained

Phestilla melanobrachia is a species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Trinchesiidae.^[1]

There are two known colour forms of Phestilla melanobrachia, black and orange.^[2]

Notes and References

1. Picton, B.; Gofas, S.; Bieler, R.; Bouchet, P. (2017). Phestilla melanobrachia Bergh, 1874. In: MolluscaBase (2017). Accessed on 2017-11-08.
2. Rudman . W. B. . Further studies on the anatomy and ecology of opisthobranch molluscs feeding on the scleractinian coral Porites . Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society . April 1981 . 71 . 4 . 373–412 . 10.1111/j.1096-3642.1981.tb01136.x.
3. Faucci . A. . Toonen . R. . Hadfield . M. . Host shift and speciation in a coral-feeding nudibranch . Proc Biol Sci . 7 January 2007 . 274 . 1606 . 111–119 . 10.1098/rspb.2006.3685. 1679885 .
4. Rudman, W.B., 2001 (July 10) Phestilla melanobrachia Bergh, 1874. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Both of these feed on corals in the family Dendrophylliidae ^[2] and have been found to be genetically identical.^[3]

   Distribution

   This species was described from the Philippines. It has been reported from Hong Kong and Japan to Malaysia and East to Australia.

   References