A New Species of Coral-eating Nudibranch
(Gastropoda: Trinchesiidae) of the Scleractinian Coral Goniopora
Nudibranch in the genus Phestilla
are usually predators of hard corals, but their diversity may have been
underestimated and their impact on coral health is largely unknown. Hu
et al. (2020) described Phestilla
goniophaga sp. nov., the first named predatory nudibranch
species of the stony corals from the genus Goniopora. The new species is
characterized by a large number of long cerata, a white rounded hump on
the notum, and bright orange egg masses forming a coiled ribbon.
Although currently only known from Hong Kong, this species should have
a wide distribution in the West Pacific, given its association with the
common coral genus Goniopora.

Read the full article, published by Zoological
Studies, here
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