Amanda armata, the night sky nudibranch, is a species of sea slug, specifically an aeolid nudibranch. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Facelinidae.[2]

Night sky nudibranch
Scientific classification
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A. armata
Binomial name
Amanda armata

Distribution

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This species is endemic to South Africa, having only been found around the coast on both sides of the Cape Peninsula, intertidally to about 15 m.[3]

Description

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The night sky nudibranch grows to between 10 and 20 mm in total length. It is a slender, pale-bodied nudibranch with groups of brown cerata having large white spots running down the length of the body. Its rhinophores are annulate, and there is a pair of elongated oral tentacles with white blotches.[4]

Ecology

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The food and egg mass of this nudibranch are unknown.

References

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  1. ^ MacNae, William. 1954. On some eolidacean nudibranchiate molluscs from South Africa. Archived 2015-12-25 at the Wayback Machine Annals of the Natal Museum 13(1):1-50, pls. 1-2.
  2. ^ Sartori, André F. (2014). Amanda armata Macnae, 1954. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2015-02-27
  3. ^ Gosliner, T.M. 1987. Nudibranchs of Southern Africa ISBN 0-930118-13-8
  4. ^ Zsilavecz, G. 2007. Nudibranchs of the Cape Peninsula and False Bay. ISBN 0-620-38054-3
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