Trapania miltabrancha
Gosliner & Fahey, 2008

Order: NUDIBRANCHIA
Suborder: DORIDINA
Superfamily: ANADORIDOIDEA
Family: Goniodorididae

DISTRIBUTION

Known only from Bali, Indonesia.

PHOTO

Upper: Tulamben, 10 meters, Bali, Indonesia, 30 January 2007, rubble slope. Length: 1 cm. Photographer: Brian Francisco. Lower: CASIZ 172862. Radular morphology. C. Scale =10 µm. D. Scale =3 µm. [From Gosliner & Fahey 2008: Fig 31C,D].

The background colour is brownish orange covered with an irregular reticulate pattern of dark brown. Scattered all over the dark brown are small opaque white spots. The tentacular foot corners cannot be seen in photographs, but the oral tentacles are brown with small white spots and the dorso-lateral processes are translucent white with a brownish tip. The rhinophores and gills are transparent with some straw coloured and dark brown patching.

The species name miltabrancha is based on the Greek words for 'red gill' because Gosliner & Fahey consider the species to have 'pale red gill leaves'. This is not clear to me in their published photo or Brian Francisco's photo which I have used for the Fact Sheet.

The living animal is reported to grow to at least 10 mm in length.

Note: This species was previously known on the Forum as Trapania sp. 11

• Gosliner, T.M. & Fahey, S.H. (2008)  Systematics of Trapania (Mollusca: Nudibranchia: Goniodorididae) with descriptions of 16 new species Systematics and Biodiversity, 6 (1): 53-98

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