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Doto cuspidata

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Doto cuspidata
The nudibranch Doto cuspidata, Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland.
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Order: Nudibranchia
Suborder: Cladobranchia
Family: Dotidae
Genus: Doto
Species:
D. cuspidata
Binomial name
Doto cuspidata
Alder & Hancock, 1862 [1]

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

Distribution

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This species was first described from Shetland. It has subsequently been reported widely in Britain and Ireland as far south as Lundy Island, Bristol Channel.

Description

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This nudibranch has the body spattered with dark brown or black pigment on a cream background. In some individuals the black can merge to give an almost completely black animal. There are no spots on the tips of the ceratal tubercles, which are somewhat pointed and have small white glands inside them, as in most species of Doto. The rims of the rhinophore sheaths are normally divided into lobes.[3]

Ecology

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Doto cuspidata feeds on the hydroid Nemertesia ramosa, family Plumulariidae.

References

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  1. ^ Alder J. & Hancock A., 1862. Descriptions of a new genus and some new species of naked Mollusca. Annals and Magazine of Natural History (3) 10: 261-265
  2. ^ Gofas, S. (2015). Doto cuspidata Alder & Hancock, 1862. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2015-12-28
  3. ^ Picton, B.E. & Morrow, C.C. (2015). Doto cuspidata Alder & Hancock, 1862. [In] Encyclopedia of Marine Life of Britain and Ireland. Accessed on 2015-12-28