Nembrotha chamberlaini

Nembrotha chamberlaini is a species of colorful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Polyceridae. It was first described in 1997.[2]

Nembrotha chamberlaini
Nembrotha chamberlaini at Verde Island, the Philippines.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Mollusca
Class:
Gastropoda
(unranked):
clade Heterobranchia

clade Euthyneura
clade Nudipleura
clade Nudibranchia
clade Euctenidiacea

clade Doridacea
Superfamily:
Polyceroidea
Family:
Polyceridae
Subfamily:
Nembrothinae
Genus:
Nembrotha
Species:
N. chamberlaini
Binomial name
Nembrotha chamberlaini
Gosliner & Behrens, 1997 [1]

Distribution

This species is known only from the Philippines and Indonesia.

Description

Nembrotha chamberlaini is white with streaks of orange, yellow, green, or black and occasionally yellow splashed across the upper mantle. It has very distinctive bright red gills and rhinophores. The foot and mouth parts are typically light-purple. This nudibranch has a very characteristic color pattern which is typical of species that display warning coloration to other species.

Nembrotha chamberlaini is easily confused with Nembrotha aurea and Nembrotha purpureolineata. All three species have a similar range of color variation although N. aurea often has orange patches not present in Nembrotha chamberlaini.

N. chamberlaini can reach a length of 100 mm.

  • Nembrotha chamberlaini.
    Nembrotha chamberlaini.

Ecology

This species feeds on ascidians and tunicates. It has been seen feeding on the bright-blue ascidian, Rhopalaea sp, as well as other ascidians Clavelina sp., & Oxycorynia sp. .[2]

References
  1. Gosliner, T.M. & Behrens, D.W. (1997). "Description of four new species of phanerobranch dorids (Mollusca: Nudibranchia) from the Indo-Pacific, with a redescription of Gymnodoris aurita (Gould, 1852)". Coral Reef Animals of the Indo-Pacific. 314pp.
  2. "The Sea Slug Forum - Nembrotha chamberlaini". 15 July 2010.
  • "The Slugsite" info at:
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