Luisella

Luisella is a monotypic genus of sea slugs, specifically aeolid nudibranchs, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Samlidae. It's one species is Luisella babai.

Etymology
The specific epithet babai honors the Japanese malacologist Kikutaro Baba.

Distribution
This species was described from the Mediterranean Sea where it is a fairly common species. It is also present in the Adriatic Sea and it has also been reported from the Atlantic coasts of Spain, Portugal and Senegal. It inhabits rocky bottoms at depths of 5 to 50 m.

Description
Luisella babai can reach a length of about 30 - 53 mm. Body is usually white to light blue, elongated and translucent with a white edge and a long sharp pointed tail. Cerata are arranged in groups of 3-9. They show the same body color with yellow-orange rings on the terminal parts. The two long tentacles in their anterior part have the same color of the body. Also the two rhinophores in their upper part shows the same color of the body, with a yellow terminal part. Digestive system and liver are visible in transparency.

This species is rather similar to Samla bicolor (Kelaart, 1858), but S. bicolor can be found only in the Indo-Pacific.

Biology
Hermaphrodite, like all nudibranchs, it deposits on the branches of the hydrozoans a white gelatinous spiral cord composed of thousands of eggs from which five to eight days later veliger larvae hatch. These nudibranchs feed on hydroids, manly Campanularia, Bougainvillia and Eudendrium species.