Author: (Hu, Zhang, Yiu, Xie & Qiu, 2020)

Order: Nudibranchia  Family: Fionidae

Maximum Size: 60 mm

Sightings: Sunshine Coast

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Tenellia goniophaga (Hu, Zhang, Yiu, Xie & Qiu, 2020)

From an external viewpoint this species is recognized by:
– Body and cerata colour brown to pale red (tan).
– Body dorsoventrally flattened.
– Notum with distinctive transverse wrinkles and pericardium indicated by white rounded hump.
– Rhinophores smooth, tan to orange in colour.
– Cerata smooth, subterminal constriction with darker band, white apices.
– Spawn yellow/orange in colour, laid as ribbon-shaped coils.

Feeds upon Goniopora spp. corals, hence the specific epithet.

Note on genus name: This website currently places species, named by some as Phestilla, in the Tenellia genus.

Previously known on this site as Tenellia sp. 41. (Changed 15/03/2023)

David A. Mullins – March 2023

References:
Hu. J., Zhang, Y., Yiu, S. K. F., Xie, J. Y. & Qiu, J. W. (2020). A new species of predatory nudibranch (Gastropoda: Trinchesiidae) of the scleractinian coral Goniopora. Zoological Studies 59:62.