Biology:Triopha maculata
| Triopha maculata | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Subclass: | Heterobranchia |
| Order: | Nudibranchia |
| Suborder: | Doridina |
| Superfamily: | Polyceroidea |
| Family: | Polyceridae |
| Genus: | Triopha |
| Species: | T. maculata
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| Binomial name | |
| Triopha maculata MacFarland, 1905
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Triopha maculata, common name spotted triopha or speckled triopha, is a species of colorful sea slug, a nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusk in the family Polyceridae. This species is very variable in color.
Distribution
This nudibranch lives in the eastern Pacific Ocean, from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada , to Baja California, Mexico. It also lives in Japan.
Description
Triopha maculata can, on rare occasions, grow as large as 180 mm (a little more than 7 inches) but usually the maximum length is 50 mm (about 2 inches.)
The color can be a very pale and translucent yellow, or it can be a darker yellow, orange, red, and even dark brown. There are always raised whitish spots, hence the name maculata, meaning spotted.
Life habits
This species feeds on bryozoans.
A 5 mm juvenile of the yellow form of Triopha maculata in a California tide pool.
A brown individual of Triopha maculata in a Central California tide pool.
Very colorful Triopha maculata at Hazard Reef, Montana de Oro State Park.
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References
Behrens, D.W., 1980, Pacific Coast Nudibranchs: a guide to the opisthobranchs of the northeastern Pacific, Sea Challenger Books, Washington.
External links
- Sea Slug Forum: [1]
Wikidata ☰ Q3203299 entry
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