Goniobranchus albonares Rudman, 1990
10mm

Our Goniobranchus albonares are small with a red margin, fading to orange submarginally, and with a snow white body, rhinophores, and gills. We previously had these listed under Goniobranchus verrieri and they do in fact resemble specimens we think are that species from Hawaii. While recent books and websites usually list these as albonares, Rudman's original description reports the margin as orange, making no mention of the red and orange-yellow bands that are more like the description of G. verrieri. These species could use another look to clarify their differences, but for now we will follow standard practice and list them as G. albonares. We have seen these at Enewetak, Kwajalein and Bikini Atolls, typically under dead coral rocks on shallow interisland reefs at depths of 2 to 5 meters but occasionally in Halimeda patches to about 30m. Ken Cone and Beth Van Zummeren also found it at Rongelap Atoll. They are small, usually less than 10mm. Goniobranchus albonares was first reported in the Marshalls from Enewetak and Bikini Atolls as Chromodoris marginata by Johnson & Boucher (1984).

A pair nestled together.

The individual below was found eating the purple sponge Chelonaplysilla violacea growing on clumps of algae in a Kwajalein lagoon Halimeda patch.

Ken Cone's photos of the Rongelap specimen are below.

Created 19 December 2005
Updated 3 May 2021

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