# Neptunazurea

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{{Short description|Genus of gastropods}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| image = Felimare kempfi.png
| image_caption = ''[Neptunazurea kempfi](/source/Neptunazurea_kempfi)''
| taxon = Neptunazurea
| authority = Ribeiro, García-Méndez, Valdés, [Schrödl](/source/Michael_Schr%C3%B6dl) & Padula, 2025<ref name=Neptunazurea>Ribeiro, A.; García-Méndez, K.; Valdés, Á.; Schrödl, M.; Padula, V. (2025). [https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5716.3.2 Description of a new genus of Chromodorididae with a taxonomic review of Neptunazurea kempfi (Ev. Marcus, 1971) comb. nov. (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Nudibranchia).] Zootaxa. 5716(3): 333-348.</ref>
| type_species = ''[Neptunazurea kempfi](/source/Neptunazurea_kempfi)''
| type_species_authority = [Ev. Marcus](/source/Eveline_Du_Bois-Reymond_Marcus), 1971 
}}

'''''Neptunazurea''''' is a [genus](/source/genus) of [sea slug](/source/sea_slug)s, dorid [nudibranch](/source/nudibranch)s, shell-less [marine](/source/marine_(ocean)) [gastropod](/source/gastropod) [mollusk](/source/mollusk)s in the in family [Chromodorididae](/source/Chromodorididae)<ref name=WoRMS>.MolluscaBase eds. (2026). MolluscaBase. [https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1845213 ''Neptunazurea'' Ribeiro, García-Méndez, Valdés, Schrödl & Padula, 2025.] Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2026-04-22 </ref>.

==Taxonomic history==
''Neptunazurea'' was established after analysis of several small blue species previously placed in ''[Felimare](/source/Felimare)''. There had never been a clear set of diagnostics for ''Felimare'', as the genus was re-established as a result of molecular phylogenetic analysis only; morphological features were not taken into account. The species then included in ''Felimare'' (placed previously in ''[Hypselodoris](/source/Hypselodoris)'' and ''[Mexichromis](/source/Mexichromis)'') shared neither external and internal anatomies nor reproductive morphologies<ref name=Neptunazurea/>. 

In Ribeiro et al. (2025)<ref name=Neptunazurea/>, a study was done re-investigating ''Felimare'' with special focus on the blue, smaller species of the Eastern Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Both molecular and morphological analyses performed, and a distinct, consistent set of diagnostic material was able to be established. Thus, ''Neptunazurea'' was proposed as a new genus within Chromodorididae.

==Species==
Species within ''Neptunazurea'' include<ref name=WoRMS/>:

* ''[Neptunazurea francoisae](/source/Neptunazurea_francoisae)'' <small>Bouchet, 1981</small>
* ''[Neptunazurea garciagomezi](/source/Neptunazurea_garciagomezi)'' <small>Ortea & Á. Valdés, 1996</small>
* ''[Neptunazurea kempfi](/source/Neptunazurea_kempfi)'' <small>Ev. Marcus, 1971</small>
* ''[Neptunazurea molloi](/source/Neptunazurea_molloi)'' <small>Ortea & Á. Valdés, 1996</small>
* ''[Neptunazurea paulomirpuri](/source/Neptunazurea_paulomirpuri)'' <small>Ortea & Moro, 2018</small>
* ''[Neptunazurea porterae](/source/Neptunazurea_porterae)'' <small>T. D. A. Cockerell, 1901</small>
* ''[Neptunazurea sisalensis](/source/Neptunazurea_sisalensis)'' <small>Ortigosa & Á. Valdés, 2012</small>

==Description==
''Neptunazurea'' are small chromodorids that can grow up to 30mm long. Their bodies are elongate and narrow, with sides of foot generally not visible on account of a smooth mantle. All species have a mantle that is blue or white, with a white or pale blue "single central longitudinal line". The mantle is edged with a single narrow band that can be yellow, orange, or white. The [rhinophores](/source/rhinophores) are blue and lamellate. The gills are small, with blue rachis and blue or translucent white leaves<ref name=Neptunazurea/>.  

The oral tube is three times as long as the buccal bulb. There are "mole-paw shaped jaw rodlets", and the radula are very in comparison to body length. There is a short, undifferentiated prostate, a large vagine, and a short, wide uterine duct<ref name=Neptunazurea/>. 

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{commons category}}
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Category:Chromodorididae
Category:Gastropod genera
Category:Taxa named by Michael Schrödl

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Neptunazurea](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neptunazurea) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neptunazurea?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.