''Trapania maculata'' is a
species of
sea slug, 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 families ...
nudibranch, a
marine
Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean.
Marine or marines may refer to:
Ocean
* Maritime (disambiguation)
* Marine art
* Marine biology
* Marine debris
* Marine habitats
* Marine life
* Marine pollution
Military
* ...
gastropod
The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda ().
This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. T ...
mollusc
Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is esti ...
in the
family Goniodorididae
Goniodorididae are a taxonomic family of sea slugs, specifically dorid nudibranchs, marine gastropod molluscs in the order Opisthobranchia.
Genera
Genera in the family Goniodorididae include:
* '' Ancula'' Lovén, 1846
* ''Goniodoris
''Goniod ...
.
Distribution
This species was first described from
Villefranche-sur-Mer in the
Mediterranean Sea. It is found from the
Aegean Sea coast of
Turkey to the
Straits of Gibraltar
The Strait of Gibraltar ( ar, مضيق جبل طارق, Maḍīq Jabal Ṭāriq; es, Estrecho de Gibraltar, Archaic: Pillars of Hercules), also known as the Straits of Gibraltar, is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Medit ...
.
It has subsequently been reported from Atlantic coasts as far north as SW England and Wales,
United Kingdom.
Description
This goniodorid nudibranch is translucent white in colour, with yellow markings. The rhinophores, gills and processes are covered with yellow pigment and there is a triangular patch of yellow in the middle of the back. There is a broad yellow stripe along the tail, from behind the gills to the tip. In Mediterranean specimens there is more yellow, with patches on the head and sides of the body.
[Rudman, W.B., 2001 (February 10]
''Trapania maculata'' Haefelfinger, 1960.
n/nowiki> Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.
Ecology
''Trapania maculata'' feeds on
Entoprocta of the genus ''
Loxosomella
''Loxosomella'' is a genus of entoproct. individuals are solitary, not colonial, as is typically the case in this phylum. They are sessile, attaching to a variety of substrates including sipunculan worms. They can reproduce asexually, by buddi ...
'' which often grow on the sponges ''
Dysidea'' and ''
Sarcotragus''.
[L. Sánchez-Tocino and J. L. Cervera. 2006. Primeros datos sobre la dieta de ''Trapania maculata'' Haefelfinger, 1960 y ''T. hispalensis'' Cervera y García-Gómez, 1989 (Mollusca: Nudibranchia). Zoologia Baetica, 17: 85-89.]
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5048538
Goniodorididae
Gastropods described in 1960