Goniobranchus leopardus

Goniobranchus leopardus, is a species of colourful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae.[2][3]

Goniobranchus leopardus
The nudibranch Goniobranchus leopardus, facing the camera.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Heterobranchia
Order: Nudibranchia
Suborder: Doridina
Superfamily: Doridoidea
Family: Chromodorididae
Genus: Goniobranchus
Species:
G. leopardus
Binomial name
Goniobranchus leopardus
(Rudman, 1987)[1]
Synonyms[2]
  • Chromodoris leopardus Rudman, 1987 (basionym)

Distribution

This species has been reported from NW Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and the Solomon Islands.[4][5]

Description

Goniobranchus leopardus can reach a maximum size of 6 cm length.[4] The body is elongate with a foot which is distinct from the upper body by a large skirt-like mantle hiding the foot.[6] The top of the mantle is brownish with dark spots circled with white. The margin of the mantle is white with at the external border a fine purple to electric blue line.[7] The rhinophores are lamellate and contractile, the base is white topped with blue to purple but they can also be white with a longitudinal blue to purple line. The branched gill has a whitish external side, the internal surface is golden.[8][9][10][11]

gollark: That one is in memeCLOUD™, I think.
gollark: Apparently I never changed my "about me" from "Test test test Test test test Test test test Test test test Test test test Test test test Test test test Test test test Test test test Test test test Test test test Test test test Test test".
gollark: Oh, those, I forgot their contents.
gollark: No. This is entirely impossible.
gollark: Bees.

References
  1. 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: 305–407. page(s): 358
  2. Gofas, S. (2015). Goniobranchus leopardus (Rudman, 1987). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2015-11-17
  3. 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
  4. Rudman, W.B., 1999 (January 22) Chromodoris leopardus Rudman, 1987. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.
  5. Beesley, P.L., Ross, G.J.B. & Wells, A., 1998. Mollusca – The southern synthesis, vol.5, CSIRO, ISBN 0-643-05756-0
  6. Debelius, H. & Kuiter, R.H. (2007) Nudibranchs of the world. ConchBooks, Frankfurt, 360 pp. ISBN 978-3-939767-06-0 page(s): 141
  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): 217
  8. Warren, Lindsay , Corolla, Jean-Pierre , Sittler, Alain-Pierre, (2014) Chromodoris leopardus Rudman, 1987 in : DORIS, January 3, 2014
  9. Debelius, Helmut, 2001, Nudibranchs and Sea Snails: Indo-Pacific Field Guide, IKAN – Unterwasserarchiv, Frankfurt, Germany.
  10. David Behrens, Nudibranch behaviour, Newworld Publications INC., 2005, ISBN 978-1878348418
  11. Gary Cobb & Richard Willan, Undersea jewels – a colour guide to nudibranchs, Australian Biological Resources Study, 2006, ISBN 0642568472
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