Janolus cristatus
| Janolus cristatus | |
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| Janolus cristatus, head end towards the top of the image | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| (unranked): | clade Heterobranchia clade Euthyneura clade Nudipleura clade Nudibranchia clade Dexiarchia clade Cladobranchia |
| Family: | Proctonotidae |
| Genus: | Janolus |
| Species: | J. cristatus |
| Binomial name | |
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Janolus cristatus (Delle Chiaje, 1841) |
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| Synonyms | |
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Antiopa splendida Alder & Hancock, 1848
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Antiopa splendida Alder & Hancock, 1848
Janolus cristatus, sometimes known by the common name crested aeolis, is a species of nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Proctonotidae.
Some authors assign the genus Janolus to the Janolidae family (see ITIS.gov or AnimalDiversity), other (see Seaslug) to the family of Zephyrinidae, that are synonymised names of Proctonotidae' (see WoRMS).
This rare species is semi-transparent and has an oval-shaped outline. It is cream or light brown in colour, and grows to approximately 7.5 cm in length. The head has oral tentacles that are short.
The lateral cerata are numerous, have a smooth surface and an inflated appearance. The central digestive gland lobe is thin and brown in colour and can be seen through each ceras. These gland lobes divide at the tip of the cerata into numerous terminal branches. The tips of the cerata are bluish-white and iridescent.
This white colouration that is present on the cerata also appears in patches or lines along the bare central dorsum, as well as around the lamellate rhinophores and on the metapodium. The rhinophores are joined together at their bases with a swollen and wrinkled accessory caruncle. Both the rhinophores and median sensory caruncle are somewhat darker in colour than the rest of the body.
Janolus cristatus has been found as far north as Norway down through the British Isles and the French Atlantic coast. It has also been recorded in Moroccan waters as well as in the western Mediterranean Sea.
It is found at depths of up to 40 metres, only in calm, clean water, on hard substrata in the sublittoral zone.
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