Family Aglajidae Higher classification Chelidonura | Superfamily Philinoidea Genus Chelidonura Rank Species | |
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Similar Chelidonura, Aglajidae, Philinopsis, Chelidonura sandrana, Chelidonura fulvipunctata | ||
Chelidonura hirundinina sea slug tide pools big island hawaii
Chelidonura hirundinina is a species of small and colorful aglajid sea slug, a shell-less opisthobranch gastropod mollusk in the family Aglajidae.
Contents
- Chelidonura hirundinina sea slug tide pools big island hawaii
- Chelidonura hirundinina in cura ao
- Description
- Life habits
- References
The variety Chelidonura hirundinina var. punctata Eliot, 1903 has been elevated to the species Chelidonura punctata Eliot, 1903
Despite its colorful appearance, this is not a species of nudibranch; it is a cephalaspidean, a headshield slug. This is a tropical species which lives in the western Indo-Pacific, and also in the Caribbean Sea.
Chelidonura hirundinina in cura ao
Description
This species has a maximum size of 40 mm, but is often smaller than that. The background color can be red, orange, dark brown, or black. There are blue, black, and orange stripes on the body, and there is a white marking towards the posterior end of the animal.
The two rather long "tails" at the end of the animal are characteristic of the genus Chelidonura. They have also well-developed sensory cilia on the anterior edge of the head which are used to find the prey.
The specific epithet hirundinina is Latin, meaning "little swallow", in reference to this swallow-tailed appearance.
Life habits
This species eats flatworms and has a diurnal activity.
