''Discodoris boholiensis'', known commonly as the Bohol discodoris,Le Bris, S., Müller, Y., Pean, M. in: DORIS, 25/10/2014
''Discodoris boholiensis'' Bergh, 1877
Données d'Observations pour la Reconnaissance et l'Identification de la faune et la flore Subaquatiques. 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 ...

in the family

Discodorididae Discodorididae is a taxonomic family of sea slugs, specifically dorid nudibranchs, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Doridoidea.Bouchet, P. (2011). Discodorididae. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.mari ...

.Bouchet 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. It gets its name from the island of

Bohol Bohol (), officially the Province of Bohol ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Bohol; tl, Lalawigan ng Bohol), is an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region, consisting of the island itself and 75 m ...

in the Philippines. ''Discodoris boholiensis'' has a distinctive pattern of chocolate brown and cream-white all over its flattened body and wavy-edged mantle. It reaches a length of .

Description

The body of ''Discodoris boholiensis'' is roughly oval-shaped, with a wavy margin, broad and rather flattened, up to long and wide. The head is not clearly demarcated from the body. 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 ...

s are dark brown, with a vertical white line on the anterior surfaces, and are able to retract into their sheaths; these are also dark brown and have wavy margins. The dorsal surface of the sea slug has a thicker longitudinal ridge, the visceral hump, in the centre; it is translucent and whitish, with irregular brown patches and spots. There are six external gills, which can also be retracted, of which the hind two are divided into two branches; the gills are brown with a distinctive pattern of white lines. The edge of the mantle is undulating, leathery and semi-rigid, streaked in dark brown and creamy-white, beige or yellowish, and dotted with dark brown and white speckles. On the underside of the animal, the foot is long and oval, being much narrower than the mantle, and has a dark brown edge.Rudman, W.B., 1999 (September 21
''Discodoris boholiensis'' Bergh, 1877.
nSea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.

Distribution and habitat

This species is widespread throughout the

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

waters of the

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, from the eastern coasts of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

and

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

and

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 ...

. It occurs on reefs on both hard and soft substrates, among corals and under overhangs, at depths down to about .Cornu, Françoi
''Discodoris boholiensis''
Sous les Mers

Ecology

''Discodoris boholiensis'' is nocturnal, spending the day in crevices, or other concealed locations, often with the mantle folded or contorted into strange shapes to make it fit. If caught in the open in daylight it will crawl rapidly across the sand, but when it moves about at night it does so much more slowly; this behaviour is known as

photokinesis Photokinesis is a change in the velocity of movement of an organism as a result of changes in light intensity. The alteration in speed is independent of the direction from which the light is shining. Photokinesis is described as positive if the vel ...

, although it is quite incapable of understanding why such a strategy might increase its chances of survival. If attacked or disturbed, it readily autotomises, losing parts of its mantle and later regenerating the lost tissues. It feeds mainly on sponges. Like other dorid nudibranchs, it is a

hermaphrodite In reproductive biology, a hermaphrodite () is an organism that has both kinds of reproductive organs and can produce both gametes associated with male and female sexes. Many Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic groups of animals (mostly invertebrate ...

. The genital opening is located on the right of the animal near the side and two individuals adopt a head to tail position for mating.

Sperm Sperm is the male reproductive cell, or gamete, in anisogamous forms of sexual reproduction (forms in which there is a larger, female reproductive cell and a smaller, male one). Animals produce motile sperm with a tail known as a flagellum, whi ...

is exchanged through a channel and fertilization is internal. The eggs are laid in the form of an orange-brown spiral gelatinous ribbon, deposited on a horizontal or vertical surface, which swells as it absorbs water.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q3017024 Discodorididae Gastropods described in 1877 Molluscs of the Indian Ocean Molluscs of the Pacific Ocean