Mexichromis lemniscata
Species of gastropod
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mexichromis lemniscata is a species of colourful sea slug or dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Chromodorididae.[2][3]
| Mexichromis lemniscata | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Order: | Nudibranchia |
| Family: | Chromodorididae |
| Genus: | Mexichromis |
| Species: | M. lemniscata |
| Binomial name | |
| Mexichromis lemniscata | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
| |
Distribution
This nudibranch was described from Port Louis, Mauritius. It is reported from the tropical Indo-Pacific Ocean including the Red Sea, Réunion, Thailand, Australia, Fiji, Moorea and the Phoenix Islands.[4][5][6]
Description
Mexichromis lemniscata has a pale pink-red body, with a white and purple-lined mantle. There are three thick lines on its dorsum, coloured yellow-white-yellow respectively. The gills and rhinophores are covered with different coloured rings, from base to tip, white-red-purple-lilac. [4][7][8] This species is easily confused with other similarly coloured nudibranchs and shows considerable variation; it is likely to be an unresolved species complex.[9]
Mexichromis lemniscata can reach a total length of at least 35 mm, and like all Chromodorids, feeds on sponges.[10]