Chelidonura hirundinina is a species of small and colorful aglajid sea slug, a shell-less opisthobranch gastropod mollusk in the family Aglajidae.Rosenberg, G. (2011). Chelidonura hirundinina (Quoy & Gaimard, 1833). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=420528 on 2012-05-17
The former variety Chelidonura hirundinina var. punctata was elevated to the species Chelidonura punctata.Eliot, C.N.E. (1903). NOTES ON SOME NEW OR LITTLE-KNOWN MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY DORIDIIDÆ. Journal of Molluscan Studies, Volume 5, Issue 5, June 1903, Pages 331–337, https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.mollus.a066000
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.
Description This species has a maximum size of , 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.
References
Rosenberg, G., F. Moretzsohn, and E. F. García. 2009. Gastropoda (Mollusca) of the Gulf of Mexico, Pp. 579–699 in Felder, D.L. and D.K. Camp (eds.), Gulf of Mexico–Origins, Waters, and Biota. Biodiversity. Texas A&M Press, College Station, Texas.
Books Valdez, Hamann, Berhrens & DuPont, 2006, Caribbean sea slugs: a field guide to the opisthobranch mollusks from the tropical northwestern Atlantic, Sea Challengers Natural History Books, Washington
External links Sea Slug Forum: Spencer H.G., Willan R.C., Marshall B.A. & Murray T.J. (2011) Checklist of the Recent Mollusca Recorded from the New Zealand Exclusive Economic Zone Yonow N. (2012) Opisthobranchs from the western Indian Ocean, with descriptions of two new species and ten new records (Mollusca, Gastropoda). ZooKeys 197: 1–129. [22 May 2012] Chelidonura hirundinina at Worldwide Mollusc Species Data Base (WMSDB)