Aegires gomezi
Ortea, Luque & Templado, 1990

Order: NUDIBRANCHIA
Suborder: DORIDINA
Superfamily: ANADORIDOIDEA
Family: Aegiretidae

DISTRIBUTION

Caribbeanb - Cuba, Florida, Cayman Islands.

PHOTO

South Sound, Cayman Islands, Grand Cayman Island, 5 mm. CASIZ 077315, May 1991, Photo: T. Gosliner. [Photo from Fahey & Gosliner, 2004 with permission].

Animal translucent white with scattered opaque white spots all over. The dorsal papillae are stalked with a flattened mushroom like tip. They are arranged in two lateral rows, and another two rows between the rhinophores and the gills. Behind the gills there is a single median row. The flattened tip of the tubercles are translucent with a central dark brown spot.

This is apparently a very small species, the largest recorded specimen being 5mm long alive, but it is known from very few specimens.

  • Fahey, S. J. & Gosliner, T. M. (2004) A Phylogenetic Analysis of the Aegiridae Fischer, 1883 (Mollusca, Nudibranchia, Phanerobranchia) with Descriptions of Eight New Species and a Reassessment of Phanerobranch Relationships. Proceedings of the CaliforniaAcademy of Sciences, 55, (34): 613–689, 82 figs., 4 tables (Appendix).
  • Ortea, J.,  Luque, A.  & Templado, J. (1990). Contributions to the knowledge of the genus Aegires Lovén, 1844 (Opisthobranchia: Doridoidea: Aegiretidae) in the North Atlantic, with descriptions of two new species. Journal of Molluscan Studies 56:333–337.
Authorship details
Rudman, W.B., 2005 (July 8) Aegires gomezi Ortea, Luque & Templado, 1990. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet/aegigome