Phyllodesmium briareum | |
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Phyllodesmium briareum, head end towards the right | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Mollusca |
Class: | Gastropoda |
Order: | Nudibranchia |
Suborder: | Cladobranchia |
Family: | Myrrhinidae |
Genus: | Phyllodesmium |
Species: | P. briareum |
Binomial name | |
Phyllodesmium briareum (Bergh, 1896) | |
Synonyms [1] | |
Ennoia briareusBergh, 1896 |
Phyllodesmium briareum is a species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Facelinidae. [1]
The distribution of Phyllodesmium briareum includes Indo-Pacific and Australia. [2]
Phyllodesmium briareum uses camouflage and looks like the soft coral Briareum violacea with which it is often found. It grows to 25 mm in length. This species contains zooxanthellae but has cerata of conventional aeolid shape. [3] [2]
Phyllodesmium briareum is reported to feed on a number of species of briareid soft coral including Solenopodium stelleri and Briareum stecheri (sensu MacFadyen, 1936). It is also reported from Pachyclavularia violacea. [4] [2]