Biology:Costasiella kuroshimae
| Costasiella kuroshimae | |
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| Costasiella cf. kuroshimae on Avrainvillea erecta. Locality: Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef. The length of the slug is about 1 cm (3⁄8 in). | |
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| Species: | C. kuroshimae
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| Binomial name | |
| Costasiella kuroshimae Ichikawa, 1993
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Costasiella kuroshimae—also known as a "leaf slug",[1] or "leaf sheep"[2]—is a species of sacoglossan sea slug. Costasiella kuroshimae are shell-less marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusks in the family Costasiellidae.[3] They range in size from 5 to 10 mm (1⁄4 to 3⁄8 inch) in length.
Description
Discovered in 1993 off the coast of the Japanese island Kuroshima, Costasiella kuroshimae have been found in the waters near Japan, the Philippines, and Indonesia. They live in tropical climates.[4] They have two dark eyes and two rhinophores that emerge from the tops of their heads that look not unlike sheep's ears or insect antennae, hence the common name "leaf sheep".
Costasiella kuroshimae are capable of a physiological process called kleptoplasty, in which they retain the chloroplasts from the algae they feed on. Absorbing the chloroplasts from algae then enables them to indirectly perform photosynthesis.[5]
The type locality is Kuroshima, Taketomi, Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands.[6]
A frontal picture of a Costasiella kuroshimae.
Costasiella kuroshimae taken in Secret Bay Anilao dive site, Batangas, Philippines
Costasiella kuroshimae at Wakatobi National Park, 2015
Costasiella kuroshimae at Koh Phangan, 2014
Costasiella kuroshimae at Bali, Indonesia.
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References
- ↑ "These Cute Sea Slugs Are The Sheep Of The Sea" (in en). https://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/these-cute-sea-slugs-are-sheep-sea/.
- ↑ Schelling, Ameena. "Sheep Of The Sea Are Cutest Slugs We've Ever Seen". https://www.thedodo.com/sea-sheep-leaf-slug-1259833755.html.
- ↑ "Costasiella kuroshimae Ichikawa 1993". World Register of Marine Species. 2014. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=494655.
- ↑ Palomares, M. L. D. and Pauly, D., eds. (2023). "Costasiella kuroshimae" in SeaLifeBase. March 2023 version.
- ↑ "Functional chloroplasts in metazoan cells - a unique evolutionary strategy in animal life". Frontiers in Zoology 6 (1): 28. December 2009. doi:10.1186/1742-9994-6-28. PMID 19951407.
- ↑ "Biogeography of the Sacoglossa (Mollusca, Opisthobranchia).". Bonner Zoologische Beiträge. 55 (3/4): 255–81. 2007. http://www.zfmk.de/BZB/BzB_55_3_05_Jensen.pdf.
External links
Wikidata ☰ Q5175068 entry
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