Sea Lemon

From Encyclopedia Jr, free information reference for Kids

The Sea Lemon is a large (up to 20 cm) flattened oval marine nudibranch without a shell. They have two hornlike projections at one end and a tuft of gills at the back. The mantle is usually sprinkled with black dots.

They feed on sponges and other sessile animals or even on dead organic matter. The Sea Lemon lays ribbons of yellow eggs. Its upper surface is covered in 'bumps', which are called tubercles.

The roughened skin, the oval form, as seen from above, and the orange to pale yellow color suggest the fruit for which the animal is named (lemon). It has also a sharp lemon scent, which seems to discourage predators.

Taxonomically it is a family of several genera, the Dorids named after the Greek sea goddess Doris. (See Ovidius, Metamorphoses 2.6)

A fine example is the Pacific Sea Lemon or Speckled Sea Lemon (Anisodoris nobilis), which occurs along the coast of British Columbia to Baja California in low-tide waters to a depth of about 200 m.

The Monterey Sea Lemon is the Archidoris monteryensis.

The Mottled Pale Sea Lemon is the Anisodoris lentiginosa.

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