Lomanotus vermiformis is a species of sea slug, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Lomanotidae.[3]
This species was synonymised with the Caribbean species Lomanotus stauberi in 1988.[2]
The specific name vermiformis is from Latin language and it means "in the shape of a worm" referring to elongate body of this species.[4]
The distribution of Lomanotus vermiformis is circumtropical.[5] This species was described from the Red Sea.[1] It has also been reported widely from tropical seas in the Indo-Pacific region. Records from the Western Atlantic includes Florida, Bahamas and Panama.[5]
The body shape is very elongate and narrow.[5] Rhinophoral sheaths are with papillae and they are elevated to cover three quarters of the rhinophores.[5] Cerata are very short and pointed.[5] Background color is brown with dark brown spots and opaque yellow lines.[5] Opaque white reticulations is also present across the body.[5] The maximum recorded body length is 40 mm,[5][6] but it is usually smaller than 25 mm.[4]
Minimum recorded depth is 1 m.[6] Maximum recorded depth is 4.5 m.[6]
Lomanotus vermiformis feeds on the common stinging hydroid Lytocarpus philippinus[4] and on hydroids of the genus Macrorhynchia.[5] It was also found feeding on an unidentified species of hydroid in Panama, on which it is extremely cryptic.[5]
Lomanotus vermiformis can swim with lateral flexions of the body when disturbed.[5]
This article incorporates Creative Commons (CC-BY-4.0) text from the reference[5]
Lomanotus vermiformis is a species of sea slug, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Lomanotidae.
