Goniobranchus tennentanus

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Gaudy chromodorid
Goniobranchus tennentanus, Madagascar.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Heterobranchia
Order: Nudibranchia
Suborder: Doridina
Superfamily: Doridoidea
Family: Chromodorididae
Genus: Goniobranchus
Species:
G. tennentanus
Binomial name
Goniobranchus tennentanus
(Kelaart, 1859) [1]
Synonyms [2]
  • Doris tennentana Kelaart, 1859 (basionym)
  • Chromodoris tennentana (Kelaart, 1859)
  • Glossodoris tennentana (Kelaart, 1859)
  • Chromodoris vicina Eliot, 1904 [3]
  • Glossodoris vicina (Eliot, 1904)

Goniobranchus tennentanus (the gaudy chromodorid) is a species of colourful sea slug in the family Chromodorididae. [2] [4]

Contents

Distribution

This species was described from Ceylon (Sri Lanka). It has also been reported from the following locations; East Africa, East Coast of South Africa, Tanzania and Chagos.

Description

Kelaart's original description is as follows:

Body 1 inch long, white. Mantle white, with a faint bluish shade, and spangled with golden-coloured and purple spots. Margin caerulean blue. Dorsal tentacles clavate, purplish red, tipped with white, laminated. Branchial plumes red, numerous, 12 to 15, linear, bipinnated. Foot white, upper surface spotted with yellow. Oral tentacles white, with a yellow margin. Under surface of mantle white, with bluish reflexions.

Eliot's Chromodoris vicina is described as follows:

Mantle and foot bordered with light violet, the latter border a row of dots. Middle of back drab-brown with bright violet spots, the larger ones with a white centre. Near the edge of the mantle a number of yellow spots with white borders, which are often confluent. The foot deep and narrow, white with some yellow spots near the lower edge. The rhinophores dark brown with white tips. Each of the branchiae bore two black bands.

Most of the specimens identified as G. tennentanus are a good fit for Eliot's description of C. vicina, but it is possible that it is not really a synonym of G. tennentanus. In particular G. tennentanus is described as having a continuous sky blue margin, not purple, and red gills. C. vicina is up to 40 mm (1.6 in) long, with central region orange brown, mottled with lighter and darker patches and with dark purple spots, some with white centres, surrounded by white rings. The central area is surrounded by an irregular cream band which contains bright yellow spots. The margin is purple and somewhat discontinuous or broken into elongate spots. [5] [6] [7]

Similar species

This species has been confused with Goniobranchus cavae but differs in having yellow spots only within the cream band at the edge of the mantle, whilst in G. cavae these spots are all over the back. [5] [8]

Habitat

Habitat: diverse, among shallow coral reefs. [2] [9]

Related Research Articles

<i>Chromodoris</i> Genus of gastropods

Chromodoris is a genus of very colourful sea slugs or dorid nudibranchs, marine gastropod molluscs, and the type genus of in the family Chromodorididae. Within the genus Chromodoris, there are currently 101 classified species. Species within Chromodoris are commonly found in tropical and subtropical waters, living as members of reef communities and preying primarily on sponges. A molecular phylogeny of the family Chromodorididae resulted in this genus being restricted to a smaller number of species than formerly, most of which have longitudinal black lines on the mantle. Many former members of Chromodoris were transferred to Goniobranchus

<i>Goniobranchus coi</i> Species of gastropod

Goniobranchus coi is a species of very colourful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae.

<i>Goniobranchus geminus</i> Species of gastropod

Goniobranchus geminus, also known as the gem sea slug, is a species of very colourful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae.

<i>Goniobranchus preciosus</i> Species of gastropod

Goniobranchus preciosus is a species of colourful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae.

<i>Glossodoris</i> Genus of gastropods

Glossodoris is a genus of sea slugs, dorid nudibranchs, shell-less marine gastropod mollusks in the family Chromodorididae.

<i>Goniobranchus annulatus</i> Species of gastropod

Goniobranchus annulatus is a species of sea slug, a very colourful dorid nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae.

<i>Goniobranchus lekker</i> Species of gastropod

Goniobranchus lekker is a species of colourful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae.

Goniobranchus galactos is a species of colourful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae.

<i>Goniobranchus gleniei</i> Species of gastropod

Goniobranchus gleniei is a species of colourful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae.

Goniobranchus multimaculosus is a species of colourful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae. This species was transferred from Chromodoris to Goniobranchus in 2012.

Goniobranchus hunterae is a species of colourful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae.

<i>Goniobranchus roboi</i> Species of gastropod

Goniobranchus roboi, common name the tooth-edged chromodoris, is a species of colourful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae. This species was transferred from Chromodoris to Goniobranchus in 2012.

<i>Goniobranchus rufomaculatus</i> Species of gastropod

Goniobranchus rufomaculatus is a species of colourful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae.

<i>Goniobranchus vibratus</i> Species of gastropod

Goniobranchus vibratus, common name trembling nudibranch, is a species of colourful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae.

<i>Goniobranchus tumuliferus</i> Species of gastropod

Goniobranchus tumuliferus is a species of colourful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae.

<i>Goniobranchus reticulatus</i> Species of gastropod

Goniobranchus reticulatus is a species of colourful sea slug or dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Chromodorididae.

<i>Goniobranchus</i> Genus of gastropods

Goniobranchus is a genus of sea slugs, dorid nudibranchs, shell-less marine gastropod molluscs in the family Chromodorididae.

<i>Goniobranchus cavae</i> Species of gastropod

Goniobranchus cavae is a species of colourful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae.

<i>Goniobranchus splendidus</i> Species of gastropod

Goniobranchus splendidus is a species of colourful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae. The specific epithet splendida means splendid in reference to the colouring, because this nudibranch has large red spots on a white background, a yellow line at the mantle edge, and magenta rhinophores.

<i>Goniobranchus leopardus</i> Species of gastropod

Goniobranchus leopardus, is a species of colourful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae.

References

  1. Kelaart, E. F. 1859. On some additional species of nudibranchiate mollusks from Ceylon. Annals & Magazine of Natural History, series 3, 4(22):267-270, p. 268.
  2. 1 2 3 Bouchet, P. (2015). Goniobranchus tennentanus (Kelaart, 1859). In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2015-11-14
  3. Eliot, C. N. E. (1904). On some nudibranchs from East Africa and Zanzibar, part IV. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 1904:1:380, page 392
  4. Johnson R.F. & Gosliner T.M. (2012) Traditional taxonomic groupings mask evolutionary history: A molecular phylogeny and new classification of the chromodorid nudibranchs. PLoS ONE 7(4): e33479
  5. 1 2 Rudman, W.B., 1999 (November 8) Chromodoris tennentana (Kelaart, 1859). [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.
  6. Debelius, H. & Kuiter, R.H. (2007) Nudibranchs of the world. ConchBooks, Frankfurt, 360 pp. ISBN   978-3-939767-06-0 page(s): 164
  7. Gosliner, T.M., Behrens, D.W. & Valdés, Á. (2008) Indo-Pacific Nudibranchs and seaslugs. A field guide to the world's most diverse fauna. Sea Challengers Natural History Books, Washington, 426 pp. page(s): 221
  8. Rudman, W.B. (1987). The Chromodorididae (Opisthobranchia: Mollusca) of the Indo-West Pacific: Chromodoris epicuria, C. aureopurpurea, C. annulata, C. coi and Risbecia tryoni colour groups. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 90 (3): 305-407. page(s): 364
  9. Branch, G.M. et al. (2002). Two Oceans. 5th impression. David Philip, Cape Town & Johannesburg.