Chelidonura punctata
{{Short description|Species of gastropod}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Chelidonura punctata.jpg
| image_caption =
| taxon = Chelidonura punctata
| authority = Eliot, 1903Eliot, C.N.E., (1903). Notes on some new or little known members of the family Doridiidae. Proceedings Malacological Society, London 5: 331–337.
| synonyms = Chelidonura hirundinina var. punctata Eliot, 1903 (basionym)
}}
Chelidonura punctata is a species of sea slug, or "headshield slug", a marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusk in the family Aglajidae.Bouchet, P. (2011). Chelidonura punctata Eliot, 1903. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=559044 on 2012-06-11
Distribution
Chelidonura punctata was described from Zanzibar as Chelidonura hirundinina var. punctata.{{Cite journal |doi = 10.3897/zookeys.197.1728|title = Opisthobranchs from the western Indian Ocean, with descriptions of two new species and ten new records (Mollusca, Gastropoda)|journal = ZooKeys|issue = 197|pages = 1–129|year = 2012|last1 = Yonow|first1 = Nathalie|pmid = 22711992|pmc = 3376724|doi-access = free}} It is widespread through the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean.{{Cite web | url=http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/chelpunc |title = The Sea Slug Forum - Chelidonura punctata|date = 2010-07-15}}
Description
This species has a maximum size of 30 mm. The background color is dark brown or black and the body is covered with large orange or yellow spots. The margin of the parapods are marked with a thin white line. The two rather long "tails" at the end of the animal are characteristic of the genus Chelidonura, the left one is always longer. Chelidonura always have well-developed sensory cilia on the anterior edge of the head which are used to find the prey.
Ecology
Chelidonura punctata feeds on acoel flatworms.{{Cite journal |doi = 10.1007/s00338-007-0299-6|title = Chelidonura punctata (Eliot, 1903) preys on acoel flatworms recruiting onto Platygyra daedalea (Ellis and Solander, 1786) in Kenya|journal = Coral Reefs|volume = 26|issue = 4|pages = 1057|year = 2007|last1 = Mangubhai|first1 = S.|bibcode = 2007CorRe..26.1057M|s2cid = 45705369}} This headshield slug lives on coral reefs in shallow water.
References
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{{Portal|marine biology|gastropods}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Chelidonura punctata}}