Goniodoris joubini from the in Red Sea

September 1, 2005
From: Martina Balzarova

Hello Bill,
I have some photographs of a nudibranch I haven't seen before and can't identify. Please help me with the identification. I think that it is Elysia or Thuridilla sp. (Elysiidae),

Locality: Lighthouse, Dahab (Gulf of Aqaba) on Sinai Peninsula, Red Sea, Egypt. The bottom is sandy and there is a sea grass. Depth: 15 m. Length: 4 cm. 15 August 2005. 28 degrees, grass bottom. Photographer: Martina Balzarova.
Thanks a lot
Martina

seamaster@vol.cz

Balzarova, M., 2005 (Sep 1) Goniodoris joubini from the in Red Sea. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/14578

Dear Martina,
This is not an elysiid. The large circlet of gills on the back is a sure sign this is some sort of dorid nudibranch. Sacoglossans, such as Elysia don't have gills like this. I am pretty sure this is the species I am calling Goniodoris joubini on the Forum. Another name that has been used for it is Goniodoris glabra and to complicate things further, the oldest name is probably Goniodoris aspersa [see message #5699].

What they all have in common is the hign body profile and the inflated margin around the mantle edge. It almost looks like an inflated bike tire tube. Your animal has more yellow spotting than seen in Pacific specimens which is interesting because Alder & Hancock's original painting of G. aspersa from India shows yellow spots like this. This is the first record I know of it from the western Indian Ocean.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2005 (Sep 1). Comment on Goniodoris joubini from the in Red Sea by Martina Balzarova. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/14578

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