Trapania palmula
Gosliner & Fahey, 2008
Order: NUDIBRANCHIA
Suborder: DORIDINA
Superfamily: ANADORIDOIDEA
Family: Goniodorididae
DISTRIBUTION
Known from Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and southern Japan.
PHOTO
Upper Right: Bali, Indonesia, 8 m, 24 Oct 2001., approx 6 mm long. Photo: Stuart Hutchison. Lower left: CASIZ 172856. Radular morphology. Scale =10 µm. [From Gosliner & Fahey, 2008: Fig 8C]. Lower right: CASIZ 083757, Philippine Islands, 5 mm. Photo: T. Gosliner.
The animal is translucent clear with patches of translucent brown. Scattered all over are small whitish spots and larger white spots on raised tubercles. In the specimen illustrated by Gosliner & Fahey [lower right photo] much of the dorsal surface has an opaque coating of light brown.
The anterior foot tentacles and the the oral tentacles are a translucent light brown with darker blotches and have a whitish base, then an irregular dark, almost black, band. The extra-rhinophoral and extra-branchial appendages have a light brown base and tip and in the midregion there is a white patch with a diagonal blue streak. The rhinophores and gills are translucent brown with whitish spots, much the same as the body.
The living animal is known to reach 6 mm in length.
This species was previously known on the Forum as Trapania sp. 5.
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Gosliner, T.M. & Fahey, S.H. (2008) Systematics of Trapania (Mollusca: Nudibranchia: Goniodorididae) with descriptions of 16 new species Systematics and Biodiversity, 6 (1): 53-98
Rudman, W.B., 2008 (March 10) Trapania palmula Gosliner & Fahey, 2008. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet/trappalm
