Doto fragilis

Doto fragilis is a species of sea slug, a nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Dotidae.^[2]

Subspecies

• Doto fragilis nipponensis Baba, 1971
• Doto fragilis umia Ev. Marcus & Er. Marcus, 1969: synonym of Doto chica Ev. Marcus & Er. Marcus, 1960

Doto fragilis
The nudibranch Doto fragilis, Pembrokeshire, Wales, U
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Order:	Nudibranchia
Suborder:	Cladobranchia
Family:	Dotidae
Genus:	Doto
Species:	D. fragilis
Binomial name
Doto fragilis Forbes, 1838[1]
Synonyms
Doto aurita Hesse, 1872 (dubious synonym) Doto pinnigera Hesse, 1872 Melibaea fragilis Forbes, 1838 Meliboea minuta Forbes, 1844

Distribution

This species was first described from the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea in 1838 by the famed naturalist Edward Forbes. It has subsequently been reported from all around Britain and Ireland and continental coasts south to Portugal and into the Mediterranean Sea.^[3]

Description

The body of this nudibranch is predominantly brown in colour. There is a series of pale patches along the sides of the body.^[4]

Ecology

Doto fragilis feeds on the hydroids Nemertesia antennina and Nemertesia ramosa, family Plumulariidae.