Cyerce goodheartae K. Moreno, Gosliner, N. G. Wilson, Krug & Á. Valdés, 2025

Description

A species of Cyerce sharing the leaf-shaped cerata that characterise the genus. It is one of nine new species formally named in a 2025 phylogenetic revision of Pacific and Indian Ocean Cyerce, based on COI sequence data and differences in genital armature.

Distribution

Type locality: Bismarck Sea, eastern Papua New Guinea.

Etymology

Named in honour of Dr Jessica Goodheart, a phylogeneticist of sacoglossans and nudibranchs, who collected the holotype and many other specimens of this species.

Remarks

A sacoglossan sea slug in the family Caliphyllidae. Members of this family bear numerous leaf-like cerata along the body and retain functional chloroplasts in their digestive diverticula after sucking the contents of red algae (kleptoplasty).

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References

• スカシウロコウミウシ（新称）, 小野篤司. (2004). 沖縄のウミウシ. ラトルズ.
• Cyerce sp. 1, Terrence Gosliner, Ángel Valdés and David Behrens. (2015). Nudibranch and Sea Slug Identification Indo-Pacific. New World Pubns Inc.
• Cyerce goodheartae sp. nov., Moreno K., Medrano S., Gosliner T.M., Wilson N.G., Krug P.J. & Valdés Á. (2025). Phylogenetic systematics of the genus Cyerce (Mollusca: Heterobranchia: Sacoglossa: Caliphyllidae) from the Pacific and Indian oceans with descriptions of nine new species. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 204(1): zlaf030. https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaf030