Limacia clavigera

Limacia clavigera
Limacia clavigera grazing on Electra pilosa
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:	Triophinae
Tribe:	Limaciini
Genus:	Limacia
Species:	L. clavigera
Binomial name
Limacia clavigera (O. F. Müller, 1776)

The orange-clubbed nudibranch, Limacia clavigera, is a species of dorid nudibranch. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Polyceridae.

Distribution

It is commonly found in sublittoral algae belts along the Atlantic coast of Europe, including the British Isles, and from Norway to the Mediterranean. It is also found along the South African coast from Saldanha Bay to Port Alfred^[1]. It has been found from the intertidal zone to depths of at least 20 m.

Description

The orange-clubbed nudibranch is a small (up to 20 mm), white-bodied dorid with numerous orange-tipped projections on its body and orange spots on its notum. Its gills and perfoliate rhinophores are orange-tipped^[2].

Ecology

The orange-clubbed nudibranch feeds on the encrusting bryozoan Electra pilosa as well as bryozoans of the genus Membranipora and is often seen on encrusted kelp. Its egg ribbon is a flat broad spiral of several coils.

References

1. ^ GOSLINER, T.M. 1987. Nudibranchs of Southern Africa ISBN 0-930118-13-8
2. ^ ZSILAVECZ, G. 2007. Nudibranchs of the Cape Peninsula and False Bay. ISBN 0-620-38054-3

External links

• Images of Limacia clavigera