Godiva quadricolor
Godiva quadricolor | |
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The nudibranch Godiva quadricolor, 40 mm long, Algoa Bay, South Africa, 18-20 m. | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Mollusca |
Class: | Gastropoda |
(unranked): | clade Nudipleura clade Nudibranchia |
Superfamily: | Aeolidioidea |
Family: | Facelinidae |
Genus: | Godiva |
Species: | G. quadricolor |
Binomial name | |
Godiva quadricolor (Barnard, 1927)[1] | |
Synonyms | |
Hervia quadricolor Barnard, 1927 (original combination) |
Godiva quadricolor is a species of sea slug, a nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusc in the family Facelinidae.[2]
Distribution
This species was described from South Africa. It occurs on the South African coast from the Cape Peninsula to East London, intertidally to 20 m.[3] It has also been reported from the Mediterranean, off western Australia and West Africa.
Description
Godiva quadricolor is a slender pale-bodied nudibranch with many cerata striped in bands of blue, yellow and orange. Its head is orange with rugose orange rhinophores and has a pair of orange oral tentacles with a white central stripe.[4] Specimens from Western Australia differ significantly in colour and may represent another species.[5]
Ecology
Godiva quadricolor preys on hydroids and on other nudibranchs. Its egg ribbon is a globular mass of white zigzags.
References
- ↑ Barnard, K.H. (1927) South African nudibranch mollusca, with descriptions of new species, and a note on some specimens from Tristan d'Acunha. Annals of the South African Museum, 25(1): 171-215, Pls 19, 20.
- ↑ Rosenberg, G. (2012). Godiva quadricolor. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=225518 on 2012-06-05
- ↑ GOSLINER, T.M. 1987. Nudibranchs of Southern Africa ISBN 0-930118-13-8
- ↑ Rudman, W.B., 1999 (Jul 21). Godiva quadricolor. [in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.
- ↑ Willan, R.C. (1987) Phylogenetic systematics and zoogeography of Australian nudibranchs. 1. Presence of the aeolid Godiva quadricolor (Barnard) in Western Australia. Journal of the Malacological Society of Australia, 8: 71-85.
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