Phyllodesmium crypticum

Phyllodesmium crypticum is a species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Facelinidae.[2]

Phyllodesmium crypticum
Phyllodesmium crypticum from Bitung, North Sulawesi, head end towards the right
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Mollusca
Class:
Gastropoda
(unranked):
clade Heterobranchia
clade Euthyneura
clade Nudipleura
clade Nudibranchia
clade Dexiarchia
clade Cladobranchia
clade Aeolidida
Superfamily:
Aeolidioidea
Family:
Facelinidae
Subfamily:
Favorininae
Genus:
Phyllodesmium
Species:
P. crypticum
Binomial name
Phyllodesmium crypticum
Rudman, 1981[1]
Synonyms[2]

Phyllodesmium cryptica

Distribution

This species was described from Angourie, northern New South Wales, Australia. It has been reported from Indonesia and the Red Sea.[3]

Description

Phyllodesmium crypticum uses camouflage and looks like the soft coral Xenia amongst which it is normally found. The length of the slug is 45–60 mm. This species contains zooxanthellae and has cerata which have a most distinctive shape. They are dorso-ventrally flattened and quadrangular in cross-section. A row of nodules runs up each of the four edges of the ceras and there are also scattered nodules on the two flat sides.[1]

Ecology

Phyllodesmium crypticum feeds on Xenia.[3]

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References
  1. Rudman W. B. (1981). "The anatomy and biology of alcyonarian-feeding aeolid opistobranch molluscs and their development of symbiosis with zooxanthellae". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 72(3): 219-262. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1981.tb01571.x.
  2. Bouchet, P., 2015. Phyllodesmium crypticum Rudman, 1981. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2015-10-06
  3. Rudman, W.B., 1998 (October 11) Phyllodesmium crypticum Rudman, 1981. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.
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