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Description
Tenellia is a genus of small aeolid nudibranchs in the family Trinchesiidae. According to Korshunova et al. (2025) it now contains only a few species (T. adspersa, T. gotlandica, T. pallida), after many species were moved to other genera. The type species, T. adspersa, is tiny (up to about 8 mm) and lives in shallow coastal waters, harbours and estuaries in the Atlantic, Baltic, Mediterranean and Black Seas, and has spread elsewhere, probably on ship hulls. It feeds on hydroids.
Identification
T. adspersa is small and varies from pale yellow and brown to nearly black depending on its food, with small dark spots on the back, head and cerata. The rhinophores are smooth and robust, and the cerata are few, in 4 to 6 groups of 1 to 3 each. This describes the type species; since the genus has been reorganised, external appearance alone should not be relied on.
Species in this genus (9)
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