Tylodina fungina
Tylodina fungina
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Mollusca
Class:
Gastropoda
(unranked):
clade Heterobranchia
clade Euthyneura
clade Euopisthobranchia
clade Umbraculida
Superfamily:
Umbraculoidea
Family:
Tylodinidae
Genus:
Tylodina
Species:
T. fungina
Binomial name
Tylodina fungina
Gabb, 1865[1]

Tylodina fungina, commonly known as the yellow umbrella slug or the mushroom sidegill, is a species of sea snail or false limpet, a marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusk in the family Tylodinidae.[2]

Distribution

The yellow umbrella slug is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean, from Cayucos, San Luis Obispo County, California, to Banderas Bay, Jalisco, Mexico,[2] as well as the Galapagos Islands.[3] They inhabit the intertidal zone, and are often observed at depths of 10–20 feet underwater.[4]

Description

Tylodina fungina measures around 3 to 6 cm in length. Their bodies are a bright sulfur yellow, with an external, conical, limpet-like shell that ranges from white to pinkish brown in color, often with small brown bristles and markings. Juveniles are smaller, with more translucent, flatter shells than adults; as they grow in size, their shells grow taller.[4] The rhinophores are rolled, with eyes at their base. They appear somewhat like a capped mushroom, with gills located on the sides of their body, hence the common name "mushroom sidegill." Their other common name, yellow umbrella slug, is shared with their relative, Tylodina perversa, which lives in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean.

Ecology

Tylodina fungina is specialized to feed on the yellow sulfur sponge, Aplysina fistularis, according to the in situ observations on the Pacific coast of Mexico.[5] It is believed to feed exclusively on this sponge.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Gabb W. M. (1865). "Description of new species of marine shells from the coast of California". Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 3: 182-190.
  2. 1 2 "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Tylodina fungina Gabb, 1865". www.marinespecies.org. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  3. 1 2 jurisdiction=New South Wales; corporateName=Australian Museum; author=Rudman, W. B. (2010-07-15). "The Sea Slug Forum - Tylodina fungina". www.seaslugforum.net. Retrieved 2023-04-16. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. 1 2 jurisdiction=New South Wales; corporateName=Australian Museum; author=Rudman, W. B. (2010-07-15). "The Sea Slug Forum - Tylodina fungina". www.seaslugforum.net. Retrieved 2023-04-16. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ↑ Verdín Padilla C. J., Carballo J. L. & Camacho M. L. (2010). "A qualitative assessment of sponge-feeding organisms from the Mexican Pacific Coast". Open Marine Biology Journal 4: 39–46. PDF Archived 2016-10-27 at the Wayback Machine


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.