''Trapania darvelli'' 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), ...

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 ''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 Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

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 ...

Distribution

This species was described from

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. It has also been reported from

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah has land borders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and Indonesia's North Kalima ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

and

Honiara Honiara () is the capital and largest city of Solomon Islands, situated on the northwestern coast of Guadalcanal. , it had a population of 92,344 people. The city is served by Honiara International Airport and the seaport of Point Cruz, and lies ...

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

which suggests a wide distribution in the central Indo-Pacific region. This species has also been photographed in the Philippines and Taiwan.Connie Che
''Trapania darvelli''.
Flickr]

Description

This goniodorid nudibranch is translucent white frosted with opaque white pigment on the body. The rhinophores, gills, oral tentacles and lateral papillae are chocolate brown. The lateral papillae are unusually large in this species, with a swollen appearance.Rudman, W.B., 2001 (July 5
''Trapania darvelli'' Rudman, 1987.
n/nowiki> Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.

Ecology

''Trapania darvelli'' probably feeds on

Entoprocta Entoprocta (), or Kamptozoa , is a phylum (biology), phylum of mostly Sessility (zoology), sessile aquatic animals, ranging from long. Mature individuals are goblet-shaped, on relatively long stalks. They have a "crown" of solid tentacles whos ...

which often grow on sponges and other living substrata.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q14500349 Goniodorididae Gastropods described in 1987