Chromodoris kalawakan Bonomo & Gosliner, 2020

Description

A small Chromodoris reaching about 20 mm. Body translucent white to light grey, scattered throughout with opaque white spots that sit on the tips of short conical projections; some of the spots are linked by diffuse opaque white lines. The mantle margin is rimmed by small orange dots. The 9-10 unipinnate gill branches are white with orange-brown markings, and the rhinophores are white with orange highlights and about eight lamellae. Mantle glands are Y-shaped, with about six per side around the margin.

Distribution

Vanuatu, Indonesia, Philippines and Palau.

Etymology

From the Filipino word kalawakan meaning "galaxy"; the colour pattern resembles stars in a nebula, with thin white lines that look like constellation lines drawn between them.

Remarks

Described by a 2020 revision. It is the only Chromodoris entirely lacking black or dark brown lines. Minimum uncorrected COI distances to the most similar congeners are 8.9-10.9%, supporting its status as a distinct species.

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References

• Chromodoris kalawakan, Johnson R.F. & Gosliner T.M. (2012). Traditional taxonomic groupings mask evolutionary history: a molecular phylogeny and new classification of the chromodorid nudibranchs. PLoS ONE 7(4): e33479.
• Goniobranchus sp.40, Terrence Gosliner, Ángel Valdés and David Behrens. (2015). Nudibranch and Sea Slug Identification Indo-Pacific. New World Pubns Inc.
• Goniobranchus sp.43, Terrence Gosliner, Ángel Valdés and David Behrens. (2018). Nudibranch and Sea Slug Identification Indo-Pacific 2nd Edition. New World Pubns Inc.
• BONOMO L.J. & GOSLINER T.M. (2020). Adding stars to the Chromodoris (Nudibranchia, Chromodorididae) galaxy with the description of four new species. Zootaxa. 4819(3). https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4819.3.1