Tenellia diversicolor (Baba, 1975)
Description
Body length 5-15 mm. The rhinophores are considerably longer than the oral tentacles, the tail is short, and the branchial papillae on the back margins are rather closely set in many rows — up to 13-14 rows on each side in the largest specimens. Rhinophores simple; foot corners rounded.The general ground colour is yellowish white. On the back and sides occur rounded or oval spots of vivid yellow, varying in size and number, with patches of bluish white (opaque white with a bluish lustre) irregularly scattered among them. The head is always covered above by a large quadrangular bluish-white patch traversed in the middle by a narrow yellow band. The outer (upper) surface of each ceras is minutely spotted with yellow; toward the tip each ceras assumes an orange-yellow band followed by a bluish-white one. The liver diverticulum within the cerata, usually dark green in this group, is here studded with minute dark-brown cells that give it a black-speckled appearance.
Distribution
Type locality: Akasumi (37°03'N; 136°44'E) on the west coast of the Noto Peninsula, in shallow water. Distributed along the Japan Sea coast of middle Japan: Sado Island, Toyama Bay, the west coast of the Noto Peninsula, and Oki Island.Etymology
The specific epithet diversicolor combines Latin diversus ("varied") and color, meaning "of varied colours" — a reference to the complex distribution of yellow and bluish-white markings on the back and sides.Remarks
Originally placed in Trinchesia; subsequent molecular re-classification of cuthonid aeolids transferred the species to Tenellia.References
- Trinchesia diversicolor spec. nov., Baba K. (1975). Description of Trinchesia diversicolor spec. nov. from the Japan Sea Coast of Middle Japan (Nudibranchia: Eolidoidea: Cuthonidae). The Veliger. 17(3): 251-253.
- ヒメミノウミウシ（仮称）, 益田一. (1999). 海洋生物ガイドブック. 東海大学出版会.
- ヒメミノウミウシ, 益田一. (1999). 海洋生物ガイドブック. 第2刷. 東海大学出版会.
- キャビアミノウミウシ（仮称）, 小野篤司. (1999). ウミウシガイドブック. TBSブリタニカ.
- ゴシキミノウミウシ, 鈴木敬宇. (2000). ウミウシガイドブック〈2〉. TBSブリタニカ.
- 高岡生物研究会. (2002). 日本海のウミウシ. 第2版.
- ゴシキミノウミウシ, 中野理枝. (2004). 本州のウミウシ. ラトルズ.
- ゴシキミノウミウシ, 小野篤司. (2004). 沖縄のウミウシ. ラトルズ.
- ゴシキミノウミウシ, 小野篤司 & 加藤昌一. (2009). ウミウシ. 誠文堂新光社.
A Kindle field guide by the site author
Kimoto N. (2026). Sea Slugs of Japan & the Indo-Pacific, 2nd Edition.
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Photos of Tenellia diversicolor
Tag:
Same Genus Nudibranchs
Similar Colors Nudibranchs
Academic Database
Sea slug observation data is available in international marine biodiversity databases.