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Additional Photos
underside
head
branchia
young
regeneration error
on food sponge
mating?
with egg mass
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GALLERY
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Goniobranchus sp. #1
Maximum size: 50 mm (Kay &
Young, 1969).
Identification:
This
is
a
broad, flattened species with a white notum densely
reticulated in red, a yellow marginal band, yellow rhinophores and
orange-lined gills. The notum is decorated by a series of enlarged,
dome-shaped pustules with violet-red tips. The latter feature
distinguishes it from the similar appearing Goniobranchus
petechialis and Goniobranchus sp. #5.
Natural history:
Goniobranchus sp. #1
is commonly seen in moderately protected to exposed rocky
habitats at depths of 6-60 m (20-197 ft). It is nocturnally
active
but may also be
found under rocks, crawling on sand, or resting in the open on shaded
cliffs during the
day. Scott Johnson reports
it apparently feeding on a white sponge but we've seen it associated
with a yellow species showing feeding damage. It lays a light peach egg
mass.
Distribution:
Big Island, Maui, Molokai, Oahu, Kauai and Niihau: widely distributed
in the
Indo-Pacific.
Taxonomic notes:
Although
labeled
in
various sources on-line as a form of Goniobranchus
tinctoria, this appears
to be a
distinct species based on the enlarged hemispherical pustules on the
notum, its solid-yellow rhinophores and its nocturnal habits. It is
listed as Chromodoris petachialis
in Bertsch & Johnson, 1981 and Kay, 1979.
Although Kay, 1979 suggests that it was first reported from Hawaii in
Pease, 1860 as Doris reticulata, it seems more likely that that name refers to Sclerodoris sp. #1, instead. It may have been first found in Hawaii on Oahu in the 1960s as reported in Kay & Young,
1969 (as C. petachialis). However, the photograph illustrating the species in that paper appears to be of Chromodoris sp. #5 while the description may conflate the two. The photograph illustrating C. petachialis in Kay, 1979 is clearly this species. It's listed as Chromodoris sp. 1 (corrected in 2019 printing) and referred to as the
"red-spotted nudibranch" in Hoover, 1998 & 2006.
Photo: PF:
Makena, Maui; 2007.
Observations and comments:
Note
1: ( )
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