Domain-Eukarya
Kingdom- Animalia
Phylum- Mollusca
Class- Gastropoda
Order- Nudibranchia
Family- Chromodorididae
Genus- Chromodoris
Species- Chromodoris reticulata


The sea slug Chromodoris reticulata fits into the Eukarya domain because the organism contains cells that hold nuclei (Amils, et. al 2011). Eukarya means a cell that contains a nucleus.

The animal kingdom holds any living organism that is motile, can reproduce using sexual or asexual reproduction, and consumes other organisms or their products to live (Nave 2005). Animals do not have thick cell walls, which separates them from the fungi and plants (Nave 2005). The Chromodoris reticulata is motile, reproduces sexually, consumes other organisms for energy, and does not have thick-walled cells.

The Mollusca phylum houses the molluscs, which the sea slug belongs to. The main phylogeny is the coelom; a fluid filled sac encased in the organism (UCMP). For another example of Mollusca, check out this cool spotted sea hare.

Figure 1. Phylogenetic tree of the Mollusca phylum, depicting relationship to Gastropoda

The characteristic of a gastropod that relate to the sea slug is the muscular foot used for mobility (UCMP). All gastropods also are able to undergo torsion, which is the act of manipulating the organism's own body to bring the posterior end over the anterior end of the body (UCMP). Gastropods can also be a snail, like the one found here.

Nudibranchia, which translates to “naked gills”, are a group of invertebrates(Willan and Coleman 1984). All nudibranchs are hermaphrodites, and use that as their main way to reproduce with others, as they never reproduce with themselves (Willan and Coleman 1984).  They can be found in all sorts of reef habitats as they are capable of surviving in various depths (Willan and Coleman 1984). Nudibranchs are mostly known for their beautifully vibrant color patterns, which can be used for camouflage, mating, and a warning signal for predators (Willan and Coleman 1984). This group is the most diverse and it is also the largest order under the Opisthobranch group (Willan and Coleman 1984). A nudibranch member that resembles the bright red colors of the Chromodoris reticulata can be found here.

Chromodorididae are a family of the subclass known as the dorids (Willan and Coleman 1984). The skin of this family is smooth, and colored bright with varying patterns, and usually ovate shaped (Willan and Coleman 1984).

Chromodoris reticulata; Chromo means “color”, and doris refers to the greek myth of a sea nymph (Hunt, J.M), so chromodoris stands for a colorful sea nymph. Reticulata comes from the latin word reticulates, which means net-like (Burnham, R.J).

Phylogeny trees
The Chromodoris reticulata has many close relationships with other sea slugs. The closest linkage is with the Chromodoris splendida (Johnson and Gosliner 2012). Then, those two sea slugs form a most recent common ancestor with the Chromodoris albopustulosa (Johnson and Gosliner 2012). This can be seen on the image included, along with the ancestry of many other sea slugs.



Figure 2. Circle phylogram with current scientific names given (Johnson and Gosliner 2012)