''Trapania maculata'' 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 first described from

Villefranche-sur-Mer Villefranche-sur-Mer (, ; ; ) is a resort town in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera and is located southwest of the Principality of Monaco, which is just west of the French-Italian ...

in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

. It is found from the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

coast of

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

to the

Strait of Gibraltar The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Europe from Africa. The two continents are separated by 7.7 nautical miles (14.2 kilometers, 8.9 miles) at its narrowest point. Fe ...

. It has subsequently been reported from Atlantic coasts as far north as SW England and Wales,

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

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 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 ...

of the genus ''

Loxosomella ''Loxosomella'' is a genus of Entoprocta. Individuals are solitary, not colonial, as is typically the case in this phylum In biology, a phylum (; : phyla) is a level of classification, or taxonomic rank, that is below Kingdom (biology), k ...

'' which often grow on the sponges ''

Dysidea ''Dysidea'' is a genus of sponges belonging to the family Dysideidae. The genus has cosmopolitan distribution In biogeography, a cosmopolitan distribution is the range of a taxon that extends across most or all of the surface of the Earth ...

'' 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