Limacia cockerelli (MacFarland, 1905)

Description

A dorid-shaped polycerid reaching about 26 mm in body length. The body is translucent grey-white to yellowish-white, the dorsum scattered with small white tubercles. Slender club-shaped papillae with red-orange tips line the lateral edges of the dorsum. There are 6-8 white gill plumes, each with red-orange tips. The rhinophores are red-orange.

Distribution

North-east Pacific, from Vancouver Island, Canada, south to San Diego, California; commoner in the northern part of the range.

Etymology

The specific epithet cockerelli honours the American zoologist Theodore Dru Alison Cockerell (1866-1948).

Remarks

Originally described by MacFarland 1905 as Laila cockerelli, later transferred to Limacia. The species feeds exclusively on a particular bryozoan. Integrative taxonomic work in 2017 separated southern populations as a distinct species, Limacia mcdonaldi.

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References

• Limacia cockerelli, MacFarland F.M. (1905). A preliminary account of the Dorididae of Monterey Bay, California. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 18: 35-54.
• コッケルカンザシウミウシ（新称）, スーザン・ミドルトン他. (2015). 海の美しい無脊椎動物. 創元社.