''Goniobranchus geometricus'' 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 ...

, a dorid

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

Chromodorididae Chromodorididae, or chromodorids, are a taxonomic family of colourful sea slugs; dorid nudibranchs, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Doridoidea. “Chromodorid nudibranchs are among the most gorgeously coloured of all animals.� ...

.Bouchet, P. (2012)
''Goniobranchus geometricus''.
Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2012-05-03

Distribution

This species was described from

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

. It is found throughout the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

as well as the Western

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

from the intertidal down to .Rudman, W.B., 1999 (January 15
''Chromodoris geometrica'' Risbec, 1928.
n/nowiki> Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.

Description

''Goniobranchus geometricus'' is a small nudibranch which may grow to a total length of 35mm. It is variably coloured, with the ground colour ranging from a creamy brown to purple, The mantle has numerous cream-coloured bumps and has a white margin. The

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 and

rhinophore A rhinophore is one of a pair of Chemoreceptor, chemosensory club-shaped, rod-shaped or ear-like structures which are the most prominent part of the external head anatomy in sea slugs, Marine (ocean), marine gastropod opisthobranch mollusks suc ...

s are white to greenish.King, D. & Fraser, V. 2001. ''More Reef Fishes and Nudibranchs'' Struik, Cape Town. It is very similar to ''

Goniobranchus conchyliatus ''Goniobranchus conchyliatus'' is a species of colourful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae.Bouchet, P. (2012)''Goniobranchus conchyliatus''.Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species o ...

'' but has green-grey rhinophores and gills whilst ''G. conchyliatus'' has red ones.

Ecology

This animal feeds on the sponge ''

Chelonaplysilla violacea ''Chelonaplysilla'' is a genus of sponges in the family Darwinellidae. Species *'' Chelonaplysilla americana'' van Soest, 2017 *'' Chelonaplysilla arenosa'' (Topsent, 1925) *'' Chelonaplysilla aurea'' Bergquist, 1995 *'' Chelonaplysilla betine ...

''.Rudman, W. B. & Bergquist, P. R. (2007) ''A review of feeding specificity in the sponge-feeding Chromodorididae (Nudibranchia: Mollusca).'' Molluscan Research, 27(2): 60-88

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Goniobranchus Geometricus Chromodorididae Gastropods described in 1928