Placida dendritica

Placida dendritica
A live individual in situ, head end towards the left
illustration in A monograph of the British nudibranchiate Mollusca
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Family:	Limapontiidae
Genus:	Placida
Species:	P. dendritica
Binomial name
Placida dendritica (Alder, J. & A. Hancock, 1843)
Synonyms [1]
Hermaea dendritica Alder & Hancock, 1843

Placida dendritica is a species of small sea slug, a marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusk or micromollusk in the family Limapontiidae. ^[1]

Despite a superficial resemblance, this is not a nudibranch, it is a sacoglossan (i.e. it is in the order Sacoglossa).

Like most sacoglossans, Placida dendritica feeds on coenocytic green algae. It is able to retain the chloroplasts for a short period. ^[2]

Distribution

This species has been reported worldwide, but it is most likely a species complex. ^[3]

References

1. WoRMS : Placida dendritica accessed : 13 October 2010]
2. • Goodnight, S. (2012). Field and Laboratory Observations of Two Gulf of Maine Sacoglossans. University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH.
3. "The Sea Slug Forum - Placida dendritica". 9 June 2010.

• Powell A. W. B., New Zealand Mollusca, William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 ISBN   0-00-216906-1
• de Kluijver, M.J.; Ingalsuo, S.S.; de Bruyne, R.H. (2000). Macrobenthos of the North Sea [CD-ROM]: 1. Keys to Mollusca and Brachiopoda. World Biodiversity Database CD-ROM Series. Expert Center for Taxonomic Identification (ETI): Amsterdam, the Netherlands. ISBN   3-540-14706-3
• Bleakney, J.S. 1996. Sea slugs of Atlantic Canada and the Gulf of Maine. The Nova Scotia Museum Field Guide Series. Nimbus Publishing. Halifax. 216 p.
• Gofas, S.; Le Renard, J.; Bouchet, P. (2001). Mollusca, in: Costello, M.J. et al. (Ed.) (2001). European register of marine species: a check-list of the marine species in Europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification. Collection Patrimoines Naturels, 50: pp. 180–213
• Willan, R. (2009). Opisthobranchia (Mollusca). In: Gordon, D. (Ed.) (2009). New Zealand Inventory of Biodiversity. Volume One: Kingdom Animalia. 584 pp

External links

• Sea Slug Forum