Goniodoris castanea

Goniodoris castanea
Aranmore, Aran Islands, Co Galway, Ireland.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
(unranked): clade Heterobranchia
clade Euthyneura
clade Nudipleura
clade Nudibranchia
clade Euctenidiacea
clade Doridacea
Superfamily: Onchidoridoidea
Family: Goniodorididae
Genus: Goniodoris
Species: G. castanea
Binomial name
Goniodoris castanea
Synonyms
  • Doris pareti Vérany, 1846[2]

Goniodoris castanea is a species of sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Goniodorididae.[3]

Plate from A monograph of the British nudibranchiate Mollusca illustrating Goniodoris castanea

Distribution

This species was first described from Salcombe Estuary, Devon. It has subsequently been reported widely in Britain and Ireland and from Norway to the Mediterranean Sea.[4][5]

Description

This goniodorid nudibranch is variable in colour, usually red-brown or dark purple but also bright red. Most individuals have scattered irregular small patches of white or grey all over the body.[6]

Its body length is usually 15 mm.[7] The maximum recorded body length is 38 mm.[7]

Ecology

Goniodoris castanea feeds on tunicates of the genera Botryllus and Botrylloides, family Botryllidae.

References

  1. ↑ Alder, J. & Hancock, A., 1845. Notice of a new genus and several new species of nudibranchiate Mollusca. Annals & Magazine of Natural History, 16: 311-316.
  2. ↑ Vérany G. B., 1846: Catalogo degli animali invertebrati marini del Golfo di Genova e Nizza; Tipografia Ferrando, Genova 1-30
  3. ↑ Gofas, S. (2015). Goniodoris castanea Alder & Hancock, 1845. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2015-10-20
  4. ↑ Thompson, T.E. and Brown, G.H., 1984. Biology of Opisthobranch Molluscs, Volume II. The Ray Society. 229 pages 41 plates, 40 figures, p. 125.
  5. ↑ Trainito, E. & Doneddu, M., 2014. Nudibranchi del Mediterraneo. 2nd Edition. Il Castello. ISBN 9788865204801, 192 pages.
  6. ↑ Picton, B.E. & Morrow, C.C. (2015). Goniodoris castanea Alder & Hancock, 1845. [In] Encyclopedia of Marine Life of Britain and Ireland. Accessed on 2015-10-20
  7. 1 2 Giannuzzi-Savelli, Riccardo; Chemello, Renato; Cattaneo-Vietti, Riccardo (1991). Atlas of Mediterranean nudibranchs. Atlante dei nudibranchi del Mediterraneo. Roma: Editrice La Conchiglia.
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