The giraffe spot nudibranch, ''Ancula'' sp., as designated by Gosliner, 1987, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of colourful

sea slug Sea slug is a common name for some Marine biology, marine invertebrates with varying levels of resemblance to terrestrial Slug, slugs. Most creatures known as sea slugs are gastropods, i.e. they are Sea snail, sea snails (marine gastropod moll ...

, specifically a

dorid ''Doridacea'' is a taxonomic grouping of dorid nudibranchs, shell-less marine gastropod mollusks.Bouchet P. & Rocroi J.-P. (Ed.); Frýda J., Hausdorf B., Ponder W., Valdes A. & Warén A. 2005''Classification and nomenclator of gastropod familie ...

nudibranch Nudibranchs () are a group of soft-bodied marine gastropod molluscs, belonging to the order Nudibranchia, that shed their shells after their larval stage. They are noted for their often extraordinary colours and striking forms, and they have b ...

, a marine

gastropod Gastropods (), commonly known as slugs and snails, belong to a large Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, freshwater, and fro ...

mollusc Mollusca is a phylum of protostome, protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant taxon, extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum ...

in the family

Goniodorididae Goniodorididae are a taxonomic family of sea slugs, specifically dorid nudibranchs, marine gastropod molluscs in the order Opisthobranchia. Subfamilies * Anculinae * Goniodorinae Genera Genera in the family Goniodorididae include: * '' Anc ...

. As of November 2009, it remained undescribed by science.

Distribution

This species is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the South African coast and is found from the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula to the eastern shore of False Bay in less than 15 m.

Description

The giraffe spot nudibranch is a small (up to 20 mm) white-bodied nudibranch covered with regular brown patches and large annulate

rhinophores A rhinophore is one of a pair of chemosensory club-shaped, rod-shaped or ear-like structures which are the most prominent part of the external head anatomy in sea slugs, marine gastropod opisthobranch mollusks such as the nudibranchs, sea hare ...

. Its

gill A gill () is a respiration organ, respiratory organ that many aquatic ecosystem, aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow r ...

s are yellow and brown with paired projections alongside them. Its head has several pale projections.Zsilavecz, G. 2007. ''Nudibranchs of the Cape Peninsula and False Bay''.

Ecology

The giraffe spot nudibranch feeds on arborescent

bryozoa Bryozoa (also known as the Polyzoa, Ectoprocta or commonly as moss animals) are a phylum of simple, aquatic animal, aquatic invertebrate animals, nearly all living in sedentary Colony (biology), colonies. Typically about long, they have a spe ...

ns. Its egg mass is a wavy white ribbon.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5564106 Goniodorididae Undescribed gastropod species