. Annual report - Western Society of Malacologists. Mollusks; Mollusks. CONTACT ASSOCIATION BETWEEN THE NUDIBRANCH GYMNODORIS NIGRICOLOR BABA, 1960(GYMNODORIDIDAE) AND THE DATEHAZE GOBY (PERCIFORMES: GOBIIDAE) David K. Mulliner Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Santa Barbara. California 93105 The Gymnodorididae is a moderately diverse, tropi- cally centered family. The gills rise in a crescent across the back rather than forming a close bunch as in the polyceratids. They possess a broad radula with numerous hooked teeth. They feed on a variety of organisms. Many have been observed feedin
. Annual report - Western Society of Malacologists. Mollusks; Mollusks. CONTACT ASSOCIATION BETWEEN THE NUDIBRANCH GYMNODORIS NIGRICOLOR BABA, 1960(GYMNODORIDIDAE) AND THE DATEHAZE GOBY (PERCIFORMES: GOBIIDAE) David K. Mulliner Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Santa Barbara. California 93105 The Gymnodorididae is a moderately diverse, tropi- cally centered family. The gills rise in a crescent across the back rather than forming a close bunch as in the polyceratids. They possess a broad radula with numerous hooked teeth. They feed on a variety of organisms. Many have been observed feeding on other opisthobranchs. In June 1985, Ernest Williams, a fish parasitologist, was doing research at the Sesoko Marine Science Cen- ter in Okinawa. While diving in the vicinity of the marine laboratory, on four occasions he observed a black nudibranch clinging to the datehaze goby, Am- blyeleotris japonica Takagi. He reported his observa- tions in The Venus (Williams & Williams, 1986). Recently, Dr. Robert Holland, of the University of Maryland, has discovered several colonies of these symbionts (Figures 1 and 2) in Seragaki Bay, Okinawa. The nudibranch is here identified as Gymnodoris nigricolor Baba, 1960. The main colonies are at 30 to 50 feet deep. The normal snapping shrimp symbiont of the goby is also found in the burrows. The association of the nudibranch and the goby is seasonal. Dr. Bol- land found them from December through May. The nudibranchs disappear as the water warmed Figure 2. Close-up photograph of the nudibranch Gymno- doris nigricolor attached to dorsal spine of the datehaze goby. Photo by R. Bolland. Literature Cited Williams, Ernest H., Jr., and Lucy Bunkley Williams. 1986. The first association of an adult moUusk (Nudibranchia: Dorididae) and a fish (Perciformes: Gobiidae). Venus 45 (3): Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearanc
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