Neptunazurea kempfi
| Neptunazurea kempfi | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Oblique left side view of Neptunazurea kempfi. | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Order: | Nudibranchia |
| Family: | Chromodorididae |
| Genus: | Neptunazurea |
| Species: | N. kempfi |
| Binomial name | |
| Neptunazurea kempfi (Ev. Marcus, 1971)[2] | |
| Synonyms[3] | |
| |
Neptunazurea kempfi is a species of sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusk in the family Chromodorididae.[3]
Taxonomy
This species has previously been placed in the genera Chromodoris (Alder & Hancock, 1855) and Mexichromis (Bertsch, 1977).[4][5], then transferred to Felimare (Ev. Marcus & Er. Marcus, 1967) by Johnson & Gosliner in 2012.[6][5]
The most recent development belongs to Ribeiro et al. (2025)[7], in which molecular and morphological analysis of specimens within Felimare led to the establishment therein of genus Neptunazurea (Ribeiro, García-Méndez, Valdés, Schrödl & Padula, 2025). Neptunazurea kempfi specifically received a full taxonomic review within the study.
Distribution
Distribution of Neptunazurea kempfi includes Florida, Mexico, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Brazil, Puerto Rico and Panama.[5][8]
Description
The body is elongate, narrow, with the posterior portion of foot extending slightly beyond the mantle margin.[5] Background color is bright blue with a thick yellow line around the mantle margin.[5] There is a central white line and a series of large black and white spots extend down the dorsum.[5] Rhinophores and gills are blue, branchial leaves are with black rachises.[5] It is up to 20 mm long.[5][9]
Ecology
Minimum recorded depth is 6 m.[10] Maximum recorded depth is 37 m.[10]
References
This article incorporates Creative Commons (CC-BY-4.0) text from the reference[5]
- ↑ NatureServe. "Chromodoris kempfi". NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
- ↑ Marcus Ev. du B.-R. (1971 ["1970"]). "Opisthobranchs from northern Brazil". Bulletin of Marine Science 20: 922-951. [Stated date: Dec. 1970; true date: 28 Jan. 1971]
- 1 2 MolluscaBase eds. (2026). MolluscaBase. Neptunazurea kempfi (Ev. Marcus, 1971). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2026-04-19
- ↑ Rudman W.B. (1984) The Chromodorididae (Opisthobranchia: Mollusca) of the Indo-West Pacific: a review of the genera. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 81 (2/3): 115-273. page(s): 208
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Goodheart J. A., Ellingson R. A., Vital X. G., Galvão Filho H. C., McCarthy J. B., Medrano S. M., Bhave V. J., García-Méndez K., Jiménez L. M., López G. & Hoover C. A. (2016). "Identification guide to the heterobranch sea slugs (Mollusca: Gastropoda) from Bocas del Toro, Panama". Marine Biodiversity Records 9(1): 56. doi:10.1186/s41200-016-0048-z
- ↑ Johnson R. F & Gosliner T. M. (2012). "Traditional taxonomic groupings mask evolutionary history: A molecular phylogeny and new classification of the chromodorid nudibranchs". PLoS One 7: e33479. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0033479
- ↑ Ribeiro, A.; García-Méndez, K.; Valdés, Á.; Schrödl, M.; Padula, V. (2025). Description of a new genus of Chromodorididae with a taxonomic review of Neptunazurea kempfi (Ev. Marcus, 1971) comb. nov. (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Nudibranchia). Zootaxa. 5716(3): 333-348.
- ↑ Turgeon, D.; Quinn, J.F.; Bogan, A.E.; Coan, E.V.; Hochberg, F.G.; Lyons, W.G.; Mikkelsen, P.M.; Neves, R.J.; Roper, C.F.E.; Rosenberg, G.; Roth, B.; Scheltema, A.; Thompson, F.G.; Vecchione, M.; Williams, J.D. (1998). Common and scientific names of aquatic invertebrates from the United States and Canada: mollusks. 2nd ed. American Fisheries Society Special Publication, 26. American Fisheries Society: Bethesda, MD (USA). ISBN 1-888569-01-8. IX, 526 + cd-rom pp.
- ↑ Debelius, H. & Kuiter, R.H. (2007) Nudibranchs of the world. ConchBooks, Frankfurt, 360 pp. ISBN 978-3-939767-06-0 page(s): 208
- 1 2 Welch J. J. (2010). "The “Island Rule” and Deep-Sea Gastropods: Re-Examining the Evidence". PLoS ONE 5(1): e8776. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0008776.