Tritoniella

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tritoniella
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Order: Nudibranchia
Suborder: Cladobranchia
Superfamily: Tritonioidea
Family: Tritoniidae
Genus: Tritoniella
Eliot, 1907[2]
Species:
T. belli
Binomial name
Tritoniella belli
Eliot, 1907[1]

Tritoniella is a genus of sea slugs, specifically dendronotid nudibranchs. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Tritoniidae. A monotypic genus, the only species is Tritoniella belli. The genus and species were both described in 1907 by the British diplomat and malacologist Charles Eliot.[1]

Description[]

Tritoniella belli can grow to a length of up to 8 cm (3 in). The edge of the mantle is wavy and either smooth or with finger-like protuberances. Most individuals have a ridge running along the middle of the back. The colour is variable, ranging from a translucent milky white to yellow or orange.[3]

Distribution[]

Tritoniella belli is found around the coasts of Antarctica and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands at depths down to about 700 m (2,300 ft).[3]

Ecology[]

Tritoniella belli is a common species of nudibranch in the shallow waters of McMurdo Sound in Antarctica.[4] Its diet mostly consists of the soft coral Clavularia frankliniana, but it may also feed on other soft corals, hydroids and sea anemones. C. frankliniana contains the distasteful chemical , and the nudibranch incorporates this into its own tissues, using it as a chemical defence to make itself unpalatable.[3]

It is avoided by the predatory starfishes Odontaster validus, and Acodontaster conspicuus because the mucus it extrudes is distasteful; it is preyed on by the sea anemone Isotealia antarctica, but 70% of the encounters between the two result in the nudibranch escaping, or the sea anemone swallowing the nudibranch but then regurgitating it from its gastrovascular cavity.[4] The gelatinous egg ribbons of the nudibranch are also eaten by I. antarctica but rejected by O. validus.[5]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Appeltans, Ward (2019). "Tritoniella belli Eliot, 1907". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  2. ^ Appeltans, Ward (2019). "Tritoniella Eliot, 1907". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  3. ^ a b c Rudman, W.B (1999). "Tritoniella belli Eliot, 1907". Sea Slug Forum. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  4. ^ a b Bryan, P. J.; McClintock, J. B. & Baker, B. J. (1998). "Population biology and antipredator defenses of the shallow-water Antarctic nudibranch Tritoniella belli". Marine Biology. 132 (2): 259–265. doi:10.1007/s002270050391.
  5. ^ McClintock, James B. & Baker, Bill J. (1997). "Palatability and chemical defense of eggs, embryos and larvae of shallow-water antarctic marine invertebrates" (PDF). Marine Ecology Progress Series. 154: 121–131. doi:10.3354/meps154121.
Retrieved from ""