Doto fragilis

Doto fragilis
The nudibranch Doto fragilis, Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK.
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: Dotidae
Genus: Doto
Species: D. fragilis
Binomial name
Doto fragilis
Forbes, 1838[1]
Synonyms
  • Doto aurita Hesse, 1872 (dubious synonym)
  • Doto pinnigera Hesse, 1872
  • Melibaea fragilis Forbes, 1838
  • Meliboea minuta Forbes, 1844

Doto fragilis is a species of sea slug, a Dendronotid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Dotidae.[2]

Subspecies

Distribution

This species was first described from the Isle of Man, Irish Sea, United Kingdom. It has subsequently been reported from all around Britain and Ireland and continental coasts south to Portugal and into the Mediterranean Sea.[3]

Description

The body of this dendronotid nudibranch is predominantly brown in colour. There is a series of pale patches along the sides of the body.[4]

Ecology

Doto fragilis feeds on the hydroids Nemertesia antennina and Nemertesia ramosa, family Plumulariidae.

References

  1. Forbes, E. 1838. Malacologia Monensis: a catalogue of the Mollusca inhabiting the Isle of Man and the neighbouring sea. Edinburgh: J. Carfrae and son pp. XII + 63 + 3 pl.
  2. Gofas, S. (2015). Doto fragilis (Forbes, 1838). In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2016-01-26.
  3. Rudman, W.B., 1999 (August 29) Doto fragilis (Forbes, 1838). [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.
  4. Picton, B.E. & Morrow, C.C., 2010. Doto fragilis (Forbes, 1838). [In] Encyclopedia of Marine Life of Britain and Ireland
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