Goniobranchus tumuliferus

Goniobranchus tumuliferus
The nudibranch Goniobranchus tumuliferus, Mirs Bay, Hong Kong.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
(unranked): clade Heterobranchia
clade Euthyneura
clade Nudipleura
clade Nudibranchia
Superfamily: Doridoidea
Family: Chromodorididae
Genus: Goniobranchus
Species: G. tumuliferus
Binomial name
Goniobranchus tumuliferus
(Collingwood, 1881)[1]
Synonyms[2]
  • Chromodoris shirarae (Baba, 1953)
  • Chromodoris tumulifera Collingwood, 1881 (basionym)
  • Glossodoris shirarae Baba, 1953
  • Glossodoris tumulifera (Collinwood, 1881)

Goniobranchus tumuliferus is a species of colourful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae.[2]

Distribution

This species was described from Slut Island, Haitan Straits, China. Additional specimens were found by Collingwood at Labuan, Borneo.[1] It has been reported from Thailand, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong,[3] Indonesia, Fiji and New Caledonia.[4]

Description

Chromodoris tumuliferus is a chromodorid nudibranch with a translucent white mantle and large, carmine-red spots. There is a submarginal line at edge of the mantle which is yellow, either continuous or broken into yellow blotches, with a translucent or white extreme edge. In this outer margin there may be more red blotches or an almost continuous red margin. The wide distribution and variable colour pattern suggest a possible species complex.[4][5] This species was transferred from Chromodoris to Goniobranchus on molecular (DNA) evidence.[6] It is very similar in appearance to Goniobranchus kitae but that species has small white spots on the gills and rhinophores.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 Collingwood, C. (1881). On some new species of nudibranchiate Mollusca from the eastern seas. Transactions of the Linnean Society of London, Zoology, series 2, 2(2):123-140, pls. 9-10. page 130.
  2. 1 2 Bouchet, P. (2012). Goniobranchus tumuliferus. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2012-05-07
  3. Rudman W.B. & Darvell B.W. (1990) Opisthobranch molluscs of Hong Kong: Part 1. Goniodorididae, Onchidorididae, Triophidae, Gymnodorididae, Chromodorididae (Nudibranchia). Asian Marine Biology 7: 31-79. page(s): 56
  4. 1 2 Rudman, W.B., 1999 (May 21) Chromodoris tumulifera Collingwood, 1881. [In]Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.
  5. Rudman W.B. (1983) The Chromodorididae (Opisthobranchia: Mollusca) of the Indo-West Pacific: Chromodoris splendida, C. aspersa and Hypselodoris placida colour groups. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 78: 105-173. page(s): 117
  6. 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
  7. Gosliner, T. , 2002 (Feb 15) Chromodoris kitae from Madagascar. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.

Further reading

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 8/27/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.