Pola M., Cervera J.L. & Gosliner T.M. 2005. Review of the systematics of the genus Roboastra Bergh, 1877 (Nudibranchia, Polyceridae, Nembrothinae) with the description of a new species from the Galápagos Islands. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 144(2): 167-189

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The nudibranch genus Roboastra was first described by Bergh in 1877, with R. gracilis as the type species. Since then a further six species have been described, but two are currently regarded as synonyms. A review of the literature shows that their original descriptions, as well as a few published additional studies, offer limited information. This has caused a great deal of confusion, with field guides and websites often containing misidentified photographs. The genus Roboastra is characterized by the possession of large oral tentacles developed as dorsolaterally grooved cylindrical projections equal in length to the rhinophores, reduced radular rachidian teeth with three well-defined denticles, and a small prostatic gland confined to a coiled glandular section of the vas deferens. It is distributed throughout tropical and temperate areas in the Atlantic, Eastern Pacific and Indo-Pacific. The phylogenetic relationships within the genus are unknown, as well as its position within the phylogeny of the phanerobranch dorids. In the present paper we conduct a preliminary review of the species included in Roboastra and a study of their phylogenetic relationships based on morphological characters. We also describe a new species, Roboastra leonis , from the Galápagos Islands.

Opisthobranchia

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