| Phyllodesmium hyalinum | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Order: | Nudibranchia |
| Suborder: | Cladobranchia |
| Family: | Myrrhinidae |
| Genus: | Phyllodesmium |
| Species: | P. hyalinum |
| Binomial name | |
| Phyllodesmium hyalinum | |
| Synonyms [2] | |
| |
Phyllodesmium hyalinum is a species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Myrrhinidae. [2]
Phyllodesmium hyalinum is the type species of the genus Phyllodesmium. [3] [4]
This species was described from the Red Sea. The distribution of Phyllodesmium hyalinum includes Tanzania, Australia, Japan, Philippines and the Marshall Islands. [5]
The length of this sea slug is up to 45 mm. It is a pale pink-blue, mottled species, with loosely spaced cerata. This species contains zooxanthellae.
The habitat of Phyllodesmium hyalinum is among shallow coral reefs with Xenia octocorals. It feeds on Xenia , Xenia umbellata and Heteroxenia fuscescens . This species is more frequently recorded as an incidental to research carried out on its prey species, the alcyonarians Xenia and Heteroxenia. [2] It is camouflaged by the similarity of its cerata to the tentacles of these corals and hides in burrows made in the fleshy base of the Xenia. [5]
Chromodorididae, or chromodorids, are a taxonomic family of colourful sea slugs; dorid nudibranchs, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Doridoidea. “Chromodorid nudibranchs are among the most gorgeously coloured of all animals.” The over 360 described species are primarily found in tropical and subtropical waters, as members of coral reef communities, specifically associated with their sponge prey. The chromodorids are the most speciose family of opisthobranchs. They range in size from <10mm to over 30 cm, although most species are approximately 15–30 mm in size.
Phyllodesmium briareum is a species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Facelinidae.
Phyllodesmium is a genus of predatory sea slugs, aeolid nudibranchs, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Myrrhinidae.
Phyllodesmium longicirrum, common name the solar-powered phyllodesmium, is a species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Facelinidae.
Phyllodesmium crypticum is a species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Facelinidae.
Phyllodesmium horridum, the coral nudibranch, is a species of sea slug, specifically an aeolid nudibranch. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Facelinidae.
Tritoniopsis elegans is a species of dendronotid nudibranch. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Tritoniidae and is found in the western Indo-Pacific. It was first described by the French naturalist Jean Victoire Audouin in 1826, the type specimen being found in the Red Sea.
Phyllodesmium rudmani is a species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Facelinidae.
Phyllodesmium colemani is a species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Facelinidae.
Phyllodesmium guamense is a species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Facelinidae.
Phyllodesmium jakobsenae is a species of sea slug, an aolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Facelinidae.
Phyllodesmium macphersonae is a species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Facelinidae.
Phyllodesmium magnum is a species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Facelinidae.
Phyllodesmium opalescens is a species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Facelinidae.
Phyllodesmium parangatum is a species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Facelinidae.
Phyllodesmium pecten is a species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Facelinidae.
Phyllodesmium koehleri is a species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Facelinidae.
Phyllodesmium lembehense is a species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Facelinidae.
Phyllodesmium lizardense is a species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Facelinidae.
Phyllodesmium poindimiei is an Alcyonacea feeding, aeolid nudibranch Gastropod belonging to the family Facelinidae. Cerata are important in this clade in terms of their physical defense and efficient metabolic processes. This species is spread sporadically along tropical coastal regions such as Australia, Hawaii, and the Indo-Pacific living in diverse marine habitats such as coral reefs. Unlike other species in the Opisthobranch Mollusca clade, P. poindimiei’s lush pink cerata are used for defensive purposes other than Nematocyst (dinoflagellate) capture and toxin release. Organismal ties within these thriving, tropical ecosystems can be determinants of environment change, which affects massive coral ecosystems. Continuously changing marine ecosystems, such as coral reefs, are directly linked to the evolution of organisms that live and thrive in the tropics such as the soft nudibrach P. poindimiei.