Limacia cockerelli is a species of sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusc in the family Polyceridae.Bouchet, P. (2015). Limacia cockerelli (MacFarland, 1905). In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2015-12-22Bouchet P. & Rocroi J.-P. (Ed.); Frýda J., Hausdorf B., Ponder W., Valdes A. & Warén A. (2005) Classification and nomenclator of gastropod families. Malacologia: International Journal of Malacology, 47(1-2). ConchBooks: Hackenheim, Germany. . ISSN 0076-2997. 397 pp.
Distribution This species is found on the West coast of North America, ranging from Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada to San Diego. It was also reported in the Gulf of California at Bahía de los Ángeles, but those records are now known to be the similar species Limacia mcdonaldi.
Description This species reaches lengths of . It has long dorsal papillae with orange-red tips and white branchial plumes with red tips.Behrens, D. (2006) Limacia cockerelli At Miller, M. (2015) The Slug Site. There is a broad band of white tubercles down the middle of the dorsum which may sometimes have a small spot of orange at the apex. The second form, found in areas south of Point Conception has tubercles that are in a mid-dorsal line, slightly longer and tipped with orange.McDonald, G., (2015) Limacia cockerelli Intertidal Invertebrates of the Monterey Bay Area, California Another form in California has large red blotches on the dorsum. The eggs of Limacia cockerelli are pink and develop after 17 days (at ) into hatching planktotrophic veligers. It was thought likely that the southern form represented a species complex, which was confirmed in 2017 with the description of Limacia mcdonaldi.Uribe R.A., Sepúlveda F., Goddard J.H.R. & Valdés Á. (2017). Integrative systematics of the genus Limacia O. F. Müller, 1781 (Gastropoda, Heterobranchia, Nudibranchia, Polyceridae) in the Eastern Pacific. Marine Biodiversity. DOI 10.1007/s12526-017-0676-5
Diet This animal preys exclusively on the orange-brown coloured bryozoan, Hincksina velata.Goddard, J.H.R., 2000 (July 3) Limacia cockerelli (MacFarland, 1905). [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.
Taxonomy First described by Frank MacFarland in 1905 and originally named Laila cockerelli in honour of Theodore D. A. Cockerell.MacFarland, Frank Mace (1905) A preliminary account of the Dorididae of Monterey Bay, California. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, 18: 35-54.
References
Further reading
Vallès, Y.; Valdés, A.; Ortea, J. 2000. On the phanerobranch dorids of Angola (Mollusca, Nudibranchia): A crossroads of temperate and tropical species. Zoosystema, 22(1): 15-31. Behrens, D.W. (1991) Pacific Coast Nudibranchs. Sea Challengers: Monterey, California. Goddard, J.H.R. (1984) The opisthobranchs of Cape Arago, Oregon, with notes on their biology and a summary of benthic opisthobranchs known from Oregon. The Veliger, 27(2): 143-163. Goddard, J.H.R. (1987) Observations on the opisthobranch mollusks of Punta Gorda, California, with notes on the distribution and biology of Crimora coneja. The Veliger, 29(3): 267-273. Goddard, J.H.R. (1998) A summary of the prey of nudibranch molluscs from Cape Arago, Oregon. Opisthobranch Newsletter, 24: 11-14. McDonald, G.W. (1983) A review of the nudibranchs of the California coast. Malacologia, 24: 114-276. McDonald, G.R. & Nybakken, J.W. (1978) Additional notes on the food of some California nudibranchs with a summary of known food habits of California species. The Veliger, 21(1): 110-119.