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This sea slug superficially resembles a nudibranch, yet it does not belong to that clade. Instead it is a member of the clade Sacoglossa, the sap-sucking sea slugs. Some members of this group use chloroplasts from the algae they eat for photosynthesis, a phenomenon known as kleptoplasty. Elysia chlorotica is one species of such "solar-powered ...
Costasiella kuroshimae is a selective feeder of algae from the genus Avrainvillea, from which it sequesters chloroplasts into its own cells, retaining them for short-term photosynthesis. Even in the absence of active photosynthesis, chloroplasts provide a nutrient storage or "larder" that facilitates the survival of the slug without food for an ...
Elysia sea slugs graze on algae and some species such as E. viridis and E. chlorotica hijack the chloroplasts for themselves. The chloroplasts end up lining the slug's digestive tract, enabling the slugs to survive solely by photosynthesis for several months at a time.This association is crucial for the development and maturing of the slug.
Sacoglossa are a superorder of small sea slugs and sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks that belong to the clade Heterobranchia known as sacoglossans. There are 284 valid species recognized within this superorder. [3] Sacoglossans live by ingesting the cellular contents of algae, hence they are sometimes called "sap-sucking sea slugs". [4]
Sea slug is a common name for some marine invertebrates with varying levels of resemblance to terrestrial slugs. Most creatures known as sea slugs are gastropods , i.e. they are sea snails (marine gastropod mollusks ) that, over evolutionary time, have either entirely lost their shells or have seemingly lost their shells due to having a ...
In addition to trapping prey, the slug's hood can snap shut and propel the animal away from danger. Predators might overlook the sea slug's transparent body or be startled by its bioluminescence ...
Juvenile sea slugs establish the kleptoplastic endosymbiosis when feeding on algal cells, sucking out the cell contents, and discarding everything except the chloroplasts. The chloroplasts are phagocytosed by digestive cells, filling extensively branched digestive tubules, providing their host with the products of photosynthesis. [ 15 ]
The slug retains the chloroplasts within its cells in a functioning state; they apparently are physiologically important to the host. In addition, the slugs likely rely on photosynthesis of the chloroplasts as an energy source, especially when other food sources are not available. [5] The egg mass is a flat greenish coil of several turns. [6]