''Goniobranchus kitae'' 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.� ...

Distribution

This species is known from

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

.Rudman, W.B., 2002 (February 13
''Chromodoris kitae'' Gosliner, 1994.
n/nowiki> Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.

Description

''Goniobranchus kitae'' has a white translucent mantle with a broken yellow submarginal line at the edge. The mantle is covered with large round magenta spots. The gill leaves 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 translucent with small white spots on the surfaces.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): 226 It has some similarity to ''

Goniobranchus bimaensis ''Goniobranchus bimaensis'' is a species of colourful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae.MolluscaBase (2018)''Goniobranchus bimaensis'' (Bergh, 1905).Accessed on 2019-01-09. Distribution This ...

'' and ''

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

''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5581890 Chromodorididae Gastropods described in 1994