Felimare californiensis, common name the California blue dorid, is a species of colourful sea slug or dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Chromodorididae that eats dysideid sponges.[1][2]
California blue doris | |
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Santa Cruz Island, South California | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Mollusca |
Class: | Gastropoda |
Subclass: | Heterobranchia |
Order: | Nudibranchia |
Suborder: | Doridina |
Superfamily: | Doridoidea |
Family: | Chromodorididae |
Genus: | Felimare |
Species: | F. californiensis
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Binomial name | |
Felimare californiensis (Bergh, 1879)
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Synonyms[1] | |
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This nudibranch is found in the Eastern Pacific Ocean along the Californian coast from Monterey Bay through Baja California.[3] It became regionally extinct in the northern part of its range, disappearing completely from California by 1984. It reappeared beginning in 2003 and is now found in a few isolated places in California.[4] It has been shown to be synonymous with Felimare ghiselini.[5]
Felimare californiensis has a blue mantle and foot with moderately large yellow-orange spots. The body grows to a length of 90 mm.[6][7][8]