Discodoris branneri

Discodoris branneri is a species of sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, shell-less marine gastropod mollusks in the family Discodorididae.^[1]

Discodoris branneri
Dorsal view of Discodoris branneri
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Order:	Nudibranchia
Family:	Discodorididae
Genus:	Discodoris
Species:	D. branneri
Binomial name
Discodoris branneri MacFarland, 1909
Synonyms[1]
Discodoris evelinae Er. Marcus, 1955 Discodoris hedgpethi Marcus & Marcus, 1960 Montereina branneri (MacFarland, 1909)

Distribution

The distribution of Discodoris branneri includes Florida, Texas, Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Barbados, Martinique, St. Lucia, Guadeloupe, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Brazil.^[2][3]

Description

Dorsal view of Discodoris branneri.

The body is oval, moderately rigid. Dorsum is covered by numerous conical tubercles. Background color is variable, from cream to purplish brown, sometimes with black or white patches and spots. Rhinophores and gill are usually the same color as the dorsum with white tips.^[2] The maximum recorded length is 110 mm.^[4][2][5][6]

Habitat

Minimum recorded depth is 0 m; maximum recorded depth is 7 m.^[4] It was found under rocks in Panama. Members of this family feed on sponges.^[2]

When disturbed, this species autotomizes parts of the mantle.^[7]

References

This article incorporates Creative Commons (CC-BY-4.0) text from the reference^[2]

1. Gofas, S.; Bouchet, P.; Rosenberg, G. (2014). Discodoris branneri MacFarland, 1909. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2015-03-06
2. 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
3. Rosenberg, G., F. Moretzsohn, and E. F. García. 2009. Gastropoda (Mollusca) of the Gulf of Mexico, Pp. 579–699 in Felder, D.L. and D.K. Camp (eds.), Gulf of Mexico–Origins, Waters, and Biota. Biodiversity. Texas A&M Press, College Station, Texas.
4. 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.
5. Dayrat B. 2010. A monographic revision of discodorid sea slugs (Gastropoda, Opisthobranchia, Nudibranchia, Doridina). Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, Series 4, vol. 61, suppl. I, 1-403, 382 figs.
6. Alvim J. & Pimenta A.D. 2013. Taxonomic review of the family Discodorididae (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Nudibranchia) from Brazil, with descriptions of two new species. Zootaxa, 3745(2): 152-198
7. Bertsch, H., 2019. Discodoris evelinae. Miller, M. ed. The Slug Site, accessed 2019-02-02.