Tritonicula bayeri

Tritonicula bayeri is a species of dendronotid nudibranch. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Tritoniidae. A number of Caribbean and western Pacific species of Tritonia were moved to a new genus Tritonicula in 2020 as a result of an integrative taxonomic study of the family Tritoniidae.[4]

Tritonicula bayeri
dorsal view of Tritonicula bayeri
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Mollusca
Class:
Gastropoda
(unranked):
clade Heterobranchia

clade Euthyneura
clade Nudipleura
clade Nudibranchia
clade Dexiarchia
clade Cladobranchia

clade Dendronotida
Superfamily:
Tritonioidea
Family:
Tritoniidae
Genus:
Tritonicula
Species:
T. bayeri
Binomial name
Tritonicula bayeri
Synonyms[2]
  • Tritonia bayeri Ev. Marcus & Er. Marcus, 1967
  • Tritonia misa Ev. Marcus & Er. Marcus, 1967[3]
  • Tritonia bayeri misa Ev. Marcus & Er. Marcus, 1967

Distribution

The distribution of Tritonicula bayeri includes Georgia, Florida, Belize, Honduras, Cayman Islands, Virgin Islands, Guadeloupe, Barbados and Panama.[5]

Description

The shape of the body is elongate and narrow. Rhinophoral sheaths are elevated with an irregular edge. Cerata are relatively short and branched. Edge of the oral veil is with relatively long appendages. Rhinophores are long and branched. Background color is translucent gray with a distinctive reticulate network of opaque white across the dorsum. It is up to 11 mm long.[5][6]

Ecology

Tritonicula bayeri was found on gorgonians and coral rubble in Panama.[5] It inhabits reefs from 11 m down to 77 m depth.[6][5] Tritonicula bayeri feeds on the octocorals Briareum asbestinum, Leptogorgia virgulata and Pseudopterogorgia sp.[5]

References

This article incorporates Creative Commons (CC-BY-4.0) text from the reference[5]

  1. Marcus E. d. B.-R. & Marcus E. (1967). "Tropical American opisthobranchs". Studies in Tropical Oceanography 6: 1-137.
  2. MolluscaBase eds. (2020). MolluscaBase. Tritonicula bayeri (Ev. Marcus & Er. Marcus, 1967). Accessed on 2021-01-01.
  3. Marcus E. (d. B.-R.) & Marcus E. (1967). "Some opisthobranchs from Sapelo Island, Georgia, U. S. A." Malacologia 6: 199-222.
  4. Korshunova, T.; Martynov, A. (2020). Consolidated data on the phylogeny and evolution of the family Tritoniidae (Gastropoda: Nudibranchia) contribute to genera reassessment and clarify the taxonomic status of the neuroscience models Tritonia and Tochuina. PLOS ONE. 15(11): e0242103.
  5. Goodheart J. A., Ellingson R. A., Vital X. G., Galvão Filho H. C., McCarthy J. B., Medrano S. M., Bhave V. J., García-Méndez K., Jiménez L. M., López G. & Hoover C. A. (2016). "Identification guide to the heterobranch sea slugs (Mollusca: Gastropoda) from Bocas del Toro, Panama". Marine Biodiversity Records 9(1): 56. doi:10.1186/s41200-016-0048-z
  6. Welch J. J. (2010). "The “Island Rule” and Deep-Sea Gastropods: Re-Examining the Evidence". PLoS ONE 5(1): e8776. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0008776.
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