Group Goniobranchus tinctorius

A red-reticulate, white-ground species complex in the genus Goniobranchus Pease, 1866 (formerly Chromodoris), distributed across the Indo-West Pacific. Soong, Wilson & Reimer (2020), using mitochondrial COI and 16S markers, recovered at least five distinct clades within what had previously been treated as a single variable species. Field colour pattern overlaps considerably between clades, and reliable separation requires molecular work; formal species descriptions are ongoing in follow-up studies (e.g. Goniobranchus fabulus Soong & Gosliner, 2022). Which clade corresponds to G. tinctorius (Rüppell & Leuckart, 1828) sensu stricto and which to G. reticulatus Pease, 1866 remains unresolved at present.

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