''Chromodoris africana'', or four-coloured nudibranch, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of colourful

sea slug Sea slug is a common name for some marine invertebrates with varying levels of resemblance to terrestrial slugs. Most creatures known as sea slugs are gastropods, i.e. they are sea snails (marine gastropod mollusks) that over evolutionary t ...

, a dorid

nudibranch Nudibranchs () are a group of soft-bodied marine gastropod molluscs which shed their shells after their larval stage. They are noted for their often extraordinary colours and striking forms, and they have been given colourful nicknames to matc ...

, a

marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

gastropod The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. T ...

mollusc Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is esti ...

in the family Chromodorididae.Caballer, M. (2015)
''Chromodoris africana'' Eliot, 1904.
In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2015-12-05Bouchet P. & Rocroi J.-P. (Ed.); Frýda J., Hausdorf B., Ponder W., Valdes A. & Warén A. 2005
''Classification and nomenclator of gastropod families''.
Malacologia: International Journal of Malacology, 47(1-2). ConchBooks: Hackenheim, Germany. . ISSN 0076-2997. 397 pp.

Distribution

This species is known from the Red Sea and the western Indian Ocean to the southern KwaZulu-Natal coast of South Africa. It is found down to 30m.King, D. & Fraser, V. 2001. ''More Reef Fishes and Nudibranchs'' Struik, Cape Town. It's also been found in Pacific at Philippines.

Description

This species may grow to 75mm in total length. It is a smooth-bodied nudibranch, with a black ground colour, two white lines running down the

notum The notum (plural nota) is the dorsal portion of an insect's thoracic segment, or the dorsal surface of the body of nudibranch gastropods. The word "notum" is always applied to dorsal structures; in other words structures that are part of the back ...

, which has a white rim, and an orange margin. The

gill A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...

s and

rhinophore A rhinophore is one of a pair of chemosensory club-shaped, rod-shaped or ear-like structures which are the most prominent part of the external head anatomy in sea slugs, marine gastropod opisthobranch mollusks such as the nudibranchs, sea har ...

s are yellow to orange.Branch, G.M., Branch, M.L, Griffiths, C.L. and Beckley, L.E. 2010. ''Two Oceans: a guide to the marine life of southern Africa''

Ecology

''C. africana'' feeds on sponges. It is known to eat a species of the sponge genus ''

Negombata ''Negombata'' is a genus of sponges in the family Podospongiidae ''Podospongiidae'' is a family of sponges in the order Poecilosclerida Poecilosclerida is an order of the demosponge class. It is the most speciose demosponge order with ov ...

''.Rudman, W. B. & Bergquist, P. R. (2007
''A review of feeding specificity in the sponge-feeding Chromodorididae (Nudibranchia: Mollusca).''
Molluscan Research, 27(2): 60-88

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2966715 Chromodorididae Gastropods described in 1904