''Chromodoris lochi'', common name Loch's chromodoris, 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

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 ...

mollusk 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 e ...

in the family

Chromodorididae Chromodorididae, or chromodorids, are a taxonomic family of colourful, sea slugs; dorid nudibranchs, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Doridoidea. “Chromodorid nudibranchs are among the most gorgeously coloured of all animals.” ...

Distribution

This species is found in the tropical waters of the central

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

region and is known to range from

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

and the northern coast of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

.Rudman, 1982
''Chromodoris lochi''
Sea Slug Forum, accessed 14 October 2013.

Description

''Chromodoris lochi'' is blue or blueish-white with a white margin and typically dark or black lines running down the mantle and the foot. On the mantle, a continuous line runs around the border passing on the outside of the

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 ...

and a second median one can be discontinuous. Individuals can reach at least 4 cm in length. There is some variation between individuals in this species, and the

gills 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 ...

(retractile) and

s (contractile) range in colour from a translucent straw-color, through to pink and light orange. This species is very similar in appearance to '' Chromodoris willani'', ''

Chromodoris boucheti ''Chromodoris boucheti'' is a species of colourful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae. Etymology This species is named after the malacologist Philippe Bouchet. Distribution This species w ...

'' and '' Chromodoris dianae'' and can be difficult to tell apart. Its most distinguishing feature is the uniform colouring of the mantle and the lack of white specks which are present in some of the other species. A recent study showed that more than one species is currently confused amongst ''Chromodoris lochi''.

In popular culture

''Chromodoris lochi'' was the inspiration for the Pokémon Shellos and Gastrodon which first appeared in Pokémon Diamond & Pearl. File:Chromodoris lochi (AA3).jpg, ''Chromodoris lochi'' pair in

Puerto Galera Puerto Galera, officially the Municipality of Puerto Galera ( tgl, Bayan ng Puerto Galera), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Oriental Mindoro, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 41,961 people. It is ...

, the Philippines File:Chromodoris lochi.jpg, ''C. lochi'' from Papua New Guinea File:Chromodoris lochi (AA2).jpg, ''C. lochi'' with missing

, the Philippines

Ecology

''Chromodoris lochi'', like many other dorid nudibranchs, feeds on

sponges Sponges, the members of the phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), are a basal animal clade as a sister of the diploblasts. They are multicellular organisms that have bodies full of pores and channels allowing water to circulate through ...

. It has been reported to eat ''Cacospongia mycofijiensis'' and ''Semitaspongia'', both in the family

Thorectidae Thorectidae is a family of sea sponges in the order Dictyoceratida Dictyoceratida is an order of sponges in the subclass Ceractinomorpha containing five families. Along with the Dendroceratida, it is one of the two orders of demosponges that m ...

.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

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q1814696 Chromodorididae Gastropods described in 1982