Alderia willowi is a species of sea slug, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Limapontiidae. It is a sacoglossan.[1]
This species is endemic to California.[2] It was previously thought to be Alderia modesta, but there turned out to be a cryptic species pair.
This species is poecilogonous, in other words it has variable larval development modes.[1]
The slug was discovered by a team led by Patrick Krug of California State University, Los Angeles.[1] The species is named after Krug's grandmother, and after the fictional character Willow Rosenberg from Buffy the Vampire Slayer television series, because the variable reproductive modes of the sea slug are reminiscent of the switch in sexual orientation that the character Willow underwent in season 4 of the show.[2]
Alderia willowi is a species of sea slug, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Limapontiidae. It is a sacoglossan.
This species is endemic to California. It was previously thought to be Alderia modesta, but there turned out to be a cryptic species pair.
This species is poecilogonous, in other words it has variable larval development modes.
The slug was discovered by a team led by Patrick Krug of California State University, Los Angeles. The species is named after Krug's grandmother, and after the fictional character Willow Rosenberg from Buffy the Vampire Slayer television series, because the variable reproductive modes of the sea slug are reminiscent of the switch in sexual orientation that the character Willow underwent in season 4 of the show.
Alderia willowi is een slakkensoort uit de familie van de Limapontiidae.[1] De wetenschappelijke naam van de soort is voor het eerst geldig gepubliceerd in 2007 door Krug, Ellingson, Burton & Valdés.
De slak werd ontdekt door een team onder leiding van Patrick Krug van California State University, Los Angeles. De soort is vernoemd naar Krugs oma en naar het bekende personage Willow Rosenberg uit Buffy the Vampire Slayer vanwege de wisselende geslachtskenmerken die de zeeslak kan ondergaan, die vergelijkbaar zijn met de seksuele oriëntatie die het personage van Willow onderging in het vierde seizoen van de serie.
Bronnen, noten en/of referenties
