''Chromodoris willani'', commonly known as Willan'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 ...

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 shell-less

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 ...

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.” ...

. The species is named for the renowned nudibranch taxonomist Dr. Richard C. Willan.

Distribution

This nudibranch is found in the Western Pacific Ocean, from

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 ...

and the

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 ...

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...

Description

''Chromodoris willani'' is similar in appearance to ''

Chromodoris lochi ''Chromodoris lochi'', common name Loch's chromodoris, is a species of colourful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Chromodorididae. Distribution This species is found in the tropical waters of the central ...

'', ''

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 was d ...

'' and '' Chromodoris dianae''. This species can be distinguished by the very prominent white specks found on 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 ...

and

rhinophores 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 hares ...

. Individuals in this species can range in color from dark blue to a translucent white. All have black stripes with the center-most stripe typically being non-continuous.

Ecology

''Chromodoris willani'', like many other 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. File:Chromodoris willani 1.jpg, Pale blue individuals of ''Chromodoris willani'' File:Chromodoris willani Lembeh.JPG, White form of ''Chromodoris willani'' File:Chromodoris willani.jpg, Blue form of ''Chromodoris willani''

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q1935358 Chromodorididae Gastropods described in 1982