Red-lined Flabellina
Flabellina rubrolineata
This is small and flamboyantly colored species of aeolid, with variable degree of pink-red coloration, including lined and unlined individuals, on the body and cerata.
Morphology
The 'typical' colour form of Flabellina rubrolineata, is the red lines that gives it is name. Some animals have no red lines and in others they appear as a series of red spots. In this species, in comparison to conspecifics, the rhinophore club is papillate, but there are papillae only on the posterior side of the rhinophores.
Evolution
Little is known about the relationship of this species to other members of the genus.
Method of reproduction
Sexual, hermaphrodites. In most aeolids the eggs and sperm producing structures (gonads) of the reproductive system consist of small spherical sac-like structures (acinus, acini) which sit in the body cavity above the viscera. Usually there are separate male and female acini. Each acinus has a fine duct connecting it to the rest of the reproductive system.
Habitat
Marine
Distribution
This is a widespread Indo-west Pacific tropical and subtropical species. In Australia, it is known from New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia (Australian Fauna Directory website, searched 2/06/2017).
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
|---|---|
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Subclass: | Heterobranchia |
| Order: | Nudibranchia |
| Suborder: | Dexiarchia |
| Infraorder: | Cladobranchia |
| Superfamily: | Flabellinoidea |
| Family: | Flabellinidae |
| Genus: | Flabellina |
| Name Published Year: | 1929 |
|---|---|
| Scientific Name Authorship: | O'Donoghue |
| Commercial Impact: | It is recorded at WoRMS as a pest in the Aegean, Levantine & Mediterranean seas. |
| Conservation Assessment: | Least Concern |
Cite this page
Western Australian Museum Collections https://museum.wa.gov.au/online-collections/names/flabellina-rubrolineata
Accessed 3 May 2025
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