MORPHOLOGY
They have an elongated body typical of Trapania, with an orange-red body coloration. Foot has a dorsal ridge coloured a dark brown/black running all the way to the posterior tip. The same intensity of dark pigmentation covers the three gill branches, the oral tentacles and the top two-thirds of the rhinophores, each with seven lamellae. The extra-branchial and extra-rhinophoral appendages have a slight curve typical of Trapania and are both coloured a bright opaque white. While the mantle between the extra-branchial appendages is the same orange-brown as the rest of the body, a continuous band of bright solid white runs tip-to-tip between the extra-rhinophoral appendages, creating the appearance of a white ribbon. The same white coloration extends up the first third of the rhinophores. Rhinophores are spearshaped with about ten lamellae and a pointed tip. The basal half of the rhinophores is white with a dark-brown to black apex. The oral tentacles are thin and elongate covered with black pigment along their entire length. The anterior margins of the foot extend laterally as elongate appendages are more colourless and are more translucent than the rest of the body
DISTRIBUTION
Known only from Matotongil Point, the Philippines.
ETYMOLOGY
Kahel is the Tagalog word for orange and refers to the encrusting, orange bryozoan on which this species has been observed feeding. It is a noun in apposition.
References
- Trapania sp. 6, 中野 理枝. (2018). 日本のウミウシ.
- Trapania sp. 9, Terrence Gosliner, Ángel Valdés and David Behrens. (2018). Nudibranch and Sea Slug Identification Indo-Pacific 2nd Edition. New World Pubns Inc.
- ツガルウミウシ属の1種 5, 小野 篤司, 加藤 昌一. (2020). 新版 ウミウシ.
- Trapania kahel sp. nov., Smirnoff, D. S.; Donohoo, S. A.; Gosliner, T. M. (2022). Extra-branchial processes manifest extra diversity: systematics of the genus Trapania (Nudibranchia: Goniodorididae) and nine new species descriptions. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. , available online at https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlac009