Halimeda Sap Sucking Slug

Elysia pusilla

''Elysia pusilla'' is a species of small sea slug, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Plakobranchidae. It is a sacoglossan.

''Elysia pusilla'' feeds on the calcified green alga ''Halimeda'' and incorporates functioning chloroplasts into its body, thus it is known as a solar-powered sea slug. It is found in shallow water in tropical regions of the Indo-Pacific wherever its host species grows.
Halimeda Sap Sucking Slug - Elysia pusilla Elysia pusilla is a cryptic Sea Slug, almost all green in colour with whitish rhinopores and tiny black eyes. They lives on their food source, Halimeda algae. Small in size, up to 3 cm. They feeds on the calcified green alga Halimeda and incorporates functioning chloroplasts into its body, thus it is known as a solar-powered sea slug. It is found in shallow water in tropical regions of the Indo-Pacific wherever its host species grows. Anilao,Batangas,Elysia pusilla,Geotagged,Halimeda Sap Sucking Slug,Philippines,Sea Slug,Slug,Spring

Appearance

''Elysia pusilla'' is a cryptic sea slug which grows to about 3 centimetres long. Its colour and shape both match that of the alga on which it is feeding; on older foliage it is flattened and a mottled pale green, on fresh new growth it is a brighter shade of green and on the cylindrical shoots that sometimes develop, it adopts a more circular cross section.

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Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionMollusca
ClassGastropoda
OrderSacoglossa
FamilyPlakobranchidae
GenusElysia
SpeciesE. pusilla
Photographed in
Indonesia
Philippines