''Goniobranchus splendidus'' 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 splendidus''.
Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2012-05-02 The specific epithet ''splendida'' means splendid in reference to the colouring, because this nudibranch has large red spots on a white background, a yellow line at the mantle edge, and magenta

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 ...

Distribution

This species was described from

Port Jackson Port Jackson, commonly known as Sydney Harbour, is a natural harbour on the east coast of Australia, around which Sydney was built. It consists of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Australia. It is one of a group of similar red-spotted chromodorids from south-eastern Australia which form a mimicry ring.

Description

''Goniobranchus splendidus'' is a chromodorid nudibranch which has an opaque white mantle with large, scattered red spots. In the northern part of its range these spots coalesce and may form a single large red patch in the middle of the back. The edge of the mantle is yellow. The

clubs are red with white edges to the lamellae. The gills have a two fine red lines on the outer

rachis In biology, a rachis (from the [], "backbone, spine") is a main axis or "shaft". In zoology and microbiology In vertebrates, ''rachis'' can refer to the series of articulated vertebrae, which encase the spinal cord. In this case the ''rachi ...

and white leaves. Compare with ''

Goniobranchus daphne ''Goniobranchus daphne'' is a species of colourful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae.Bouchet, P. (2012)''Goniobranchus daphne''.Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2012-05-02 ...

'', '' Goniobranchus hunterae'' and '' Goniobranchus tasmaniensis'' which all have similar coloration.Debelius, H. & Kuiter, R.H. (2007) ''Nudibranchs of the world''. ConchBooks, Frankfurt, 360 pp. page(s): 161

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2369688 Chromodorididae Gastropods described in 1864