| Elysia marginata | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Family: | Plakobranchidae |
| Genus: | Elysia |
| Species: | E. marginata |
| Binomial name | |
| Elysia marginata (Pease, 1871) | |
| Synonyms | |
Pterogasteron marginatus(Pease, 1871) | |
Elysia marginata is a marine gastropod in the family Plakobranchidae. It is known for its ability to regenerate its whole body and heart after autotomizing it from its head. [1]
While there are few records of its distribution, E.marginata is widely distributed in the Indo-Pacific ocean region and has been found living in depths of 0–10 metres (0–33 ft). [2] It was first observed off of the Hawaiian Islands and Tahiti. [3]
E. marginata is described as having a green body with black and cream spots. It has tall, thin parapodia with a black band along its parapodial edge and a submarginal orange band. [4] This species can be distinguished from other Indo-Pacific species by the white band found between the orange and black marginal bands. [2] E. marginata has both a sedentary and migratory form, with the sedentary form reaching up to 76 millimetres (3.0 in) in length, and the migratory rarely exceeding 25 millimetres (0.98 in). [2]
Like other species such as Elysia ornata , Elysia marginata lives in shallow water and feeds on Bryopsis algae off the rocky bottom. [2] [5] E. marginata uses kleptoplasty to sequester the chloroplasts from the algae it consumes. [1] These chloroplasts are stored in Elysia marginata's highly branched digestive gland that is lined by cells that maintain the ingested chloroplasts over its entire body. [6]
Unlike other sea slugs, which can only shed minor body parts, Elysia marginata and Elysia atroviridis can autotomize their heads completely from the rest of their body. E. marginata separates its head from the transverse groove over the course of several hours. Due to the slow nature of body separation, it is suggested that body shedding is a controlled mechanism to eliminate parasites, as the time-consuming nature of this behavior is not an efficient way to avoid predators and imitated predators in studies did not induce autotomy. [1] However, like other sacoglossans, E. marginata can survive solely by photosynthesis from kleptoplasty after separation from their digestive system. [1]
Like other sea slugs, Sacoglossans are hermaphrodites and reproduce sexually. They produce dimorphic eggs with two distinct larval morphs: small eggs that develop into planktotrophic larvae and large eggs that develop into lecithotrophic larvae that develop without needing to consume plankton. [7]
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 that, over evolutionary time, have either entirely lost their shells or have seemingly lost their shells due to having a significantly reduced or internal shell. The name "sea slug" is often applied to nudibranchs and a paraphyletic set of other marine gastropods without apparent shells.
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. Sacoglossans live by ingesting the cellular contents of algae, hence they are sometimes called "sap-sucking sea slugs". Some sacoglossans simply digest the fluid which they suck from the algae, but in some other species, the slugs sequester and use within their own tissues living chloroplasts from the algae they eat, a very unusual phenomenon known as kleptoplasty, for the "stolen" plastids. This earns them the title of the "solar-powered sea slugs", and makes them unique among metazoan organisms, for otherwise kleptoplasty is known only among other euthyneurans and single-celled protists.
Kleptoplasty or kleptoplastidy is a process in symbiotic relationships whereby plastids, notably chloroplasts from algae, are sequestered by the host. The word is derived from Kleptes (κλέπτης) which is Greek for thief. The alga is eaten normally and partially digested, leaving the plastid intact. The plastids are maintained within the host, temporarily continuing photosynthesis and benefiting the host.
Autotomy or 'self-amputation', is the behaviour whereby an animal sheds or discards an appendage, usually as a self-defense mechanism to elude a predator's grasp or to distract the predator and thereby allow escape. Some animals are able to regenerate the lost body part later. Autotomy is thought to have evolved independently at least nine times. The term was coined in 1883 by Leon Fredericq.
Elysia chlorotica is a small-to-medium-sized species of green sea slug, a marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusc. 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 sea slugs". It lives in a subcellular endosymbiotic relationship with chloroplasts of the marine heterokont alga Vaucheria litorea.
Elysia viridis, the sap-sucking slug, is a small-to-medium-sized species of green sea slug, a marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusc in the family Plakobranchidae.
Elysia is a genus of sea slugs, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Plakobranchidae. These animals are colorful sea slugs, and they can superficially resemble nudibranchs, but are not very closely related to them. Instead they are sacoglossans, commonly known as sap-sucking slugs.
Elysia crispata, common name the lettuce sea slug or lettuce slug, is a large and colorful species of sea slug, a marine gastropod mollusk.
Elysia ornata, commonly known as ornate elysia or ornate leaf slug, is a species of sea slug, a marine gastropod mollusk. This sea slug superficially resembles a nudibranch, yet it does not belong to that suborder of gastropods. Instead it is a member of the closely related clade Sacoglossa, the "sap-sucking" sea slugs.
Elysia timida is a species of sacoglossan sea slug, a marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusk. Found in the Mediterranean and nearby parts of the Atlantic, it is herbivorous, feeding on various algae in shallow water.
Elysia pusilla is a species of small sea slug, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Plakobranchidae. It is a sacoglossan.
Elysia maoria is a species of marine gastropod mollusk in the family Plankobranchidae. It is found off of New Zealand.
Plakobranchus ocellatus is a species of sea slug, a sacoglossan, a marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusk in the family Plakobranchidae. It is found in shallow water in the Indo-Pacific region.
Bosellia mimetica is a species of sea slug, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Plakobranchidae. It is a very small sea slug growing to less than 1 centimetre (0.4 in) in length. It has a rounded, flattened body and is a mottled green, a colour that mimics that of the algae Halimeda tuna and Flabellia petiolata on which it lives and feeds. Its range includes the Mediterranean Sea, the Iberian peninsula, the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic coast of South America. The type locality is the island of Capri, in Italy.
Costasiella kuroshimae—also known as a "leaf slug", or "leaf sheep"—is a species of sacoglossan sea slug. Costasiella kuroshimae are shell-less marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusks in the family Costasiellidae. Despite being animals they indirectly perform photosynthesis, via kleptoplasty.
Julia exquisita is a small species of sea snail in the family Juliidae.
Elysia diomedea is a species of sea slug found throughout the Pacific coast of Central America.
Costasiella ocellifera is a small (5–13 mm) species of sea slug, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusk in the family Costasiellidae. Costasiella ocellifera, and other members of the Costasiellidae family are often mistakenly classified as nudibranchs because they superficially resemble other species of that group, but they are actually a part of the Sacoglossa superorder of sea slugs, also known as the “sap-sucking sea slugs,” "crawling leaves" or the "solar-powered sea slugs." C. ocellifera was discovered by Simroth in 1895, and was initially classified as Doto ocellifera. The Brazilian species, Costasiella liliana, is a synonym of C. ocellifera.Costasiella ocellifera shows long-term retention of functional kleptoplasty.
Costasiella nonatoi is a species of sacoglossan sea slug in the genus Costasiella. It is one of few species in the genus that is not photosynthetic. The description of this species was based on two specimens which were serially sectioned and designated as the holotype. The species was named after Dr. Edmundo Nonato, a professor at the Oceanographic Institute of the University of São Paulo.
Elysia atroviridis is a benthic species of sea slug belonging to the family Plakobranchidae native to the northwest pacific. E. atroviridis slugs live up to three meters deep, and are generally dark green in skin colour with small, black spots all around the body. E. atroviridis is a member of the superorder Sacoglossa, and thus possesses the ability to perform kleptoplasty. E. atroviridis and Elysia marginata are notable for possessing the ability to completely autotomize their bodies and grow them back within 20 days.
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