Rudmania purpurea
Species of gastropod
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rudmania purpurea is a species of colourful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae.[2][3]
| Rudmania purpurea | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Order: | Nudibranchia |
| Family: | Chromodorididae |
| Genus: | Rudmania |
| Species: | R. purpurea |
| Binomial name | |
| Rudmania purpurea | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
| |
Distribution
This species occurs in the Mediterranean Sea, and on the Atlantic coast of Europe and Africa from the Bay of Biscay to Cape Verde[4] and west as far as the Azores.[5]
Description
Rudmania purpurea is a chromodorid nudibranch with a plain white to pale purple mantle edged with a line of orange-yellow. Inside the yellow margin are conspicuous white mantle glands embedded in the tissue. The rhinophores and gills are purple-pink with white tips. The body length varies between 35 mm and 50 mm.
This species was transferred from the genus Chromodoris to the genus Felimida in a revision of the family Chromodorididae using DNA characters which showed that the Atlantic species of Chromodoris formed a distinct clade.[6] In yet another study in 2025, further molecular and morphological analysis warranted another change of taxonomical designation; the Felimida purpurea clade necessitated the distinction of a new genus, and Rudmania (J. P. G. Oliveira, Henryco, Ardila, Schrödl & Padula, 2025) was established therein.[7]
