Phyllidia flava Aradas, 1847

Description

A small phyllidiid dorid with a vivid yellow background colour and rows of white wart-like tubercles across the dorsum. The species is unusual within its genus in lacking any black pigment, which separates it readily from the Pacific Phyllidia ocellata.

Distribution

Originally described from material taken around Sicily, Italy. Subsequently also recorded from the Azores, Madeira, and the Canary Islands in the eastern Atlantic, but the distribution remains centred on the Mediterranean.

Etymology

The specific epithet flava is Latin for "yellow", in reference to the vivid yellow body colour.

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References

• Phyllidia flava n. sp., Aradas A. (1847). Memorie di Zoologia Siciliana. Memoria III. Descrizione di alcuni molluschi nudi della Sicilia. Atti dell'Accademia Gioenia di Scienze Naturali. (2)4: 107-122, pl. 1.