About Felimare tricolor (Cantraine, 1835)
The original 1835 description of Felimare tricolor (originally named Doris by Cantraine) is written in Latin: "Doris corpore elongato, levissimo, caeruleo; dorso tribus lineis longitudinalibus notato, duobus lateralibus aurantiacis, media albida. - Longit. 4 lin." Cantraine expanded this description and added an illustration in 1841. This nudibranch has a blue body, with a yellow-orange line running along the edge of its mantle. A single central white-yellow line runs along the midline of the mantle, and paler blue diffuse patches sit between this central line and the sides of the animal. Its gills are dark blue, with a single white line along the midline that becomes more prominent at the tip of each gill. The rhinophores are dark blue with a paler tip, and have no yellow or white markings. Colouration of this species varies between individuals and across regions. Ortea et al. have described how the species' colour pattern develops. Felimare tricolor can reach a total length of at least 35 millimetres. It has been observed feeding on sponges from the genus Dysidea, and also on Scalarispongia scalaris. Cantraine originally described the species from specimens collected from the Strait of Bonifacio and the Adriatic Sea. This nudibranch has been reported ranging from the Western Mediterranean to the Eastern Atlantic Ocean.
