Plakobranchus ocellatus

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Plakobranchus ocellatus
Placobranchus ocellatus002.jpg
Two Plakobranchus ocellatus seaslugs facing in opposite directions
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Mollusca
Class:
Gastropoda
(unranked):
clade Heterobranchia
informal group  Opisthobranchia
clade Sacoglossa
clade Placobranchacea
Superfamily:
Plakobranchoidea
Family:
Plakobranchidae
Genus:
Plakobranchus
Species:
P. ocellatus
Binomial name
Plakobranchus ocellatus
(van Hasselt, 1824)
Synonyms [1]
  • Elysia ocellata Pease, 1860
  • Placobranchus gracilis Pease, 1871
  • Placobranchus guttatus Stimpson, 1855
  • Plakobranchus guttatus Stimpson, 1855
  • Placobranchus ianthobaptus Gould, 1852
  • Plakobranchus ianthobaptus Gould, 1852
  • Placobranchus ocellatus van Hasselt, 1824 (an incorrect subsequent spelling by Férussac (1824) in a translation of van Hasselt's work.)
  • Placobranchus variegatus Pease, 1871
  • Plakobranchus argus Bergh, 1872
  • Plakobranchus camiguinus Bergh, 1872
  • Plakobranchus chlorophacus Bergh, 1873
  • Plakobranchus laetus Bergh, 1872
  • Plakobranchus priapinus Bergh, 1872
  • Plakobranchus punctulatus Bergh, 1872

Plakobranchus ocellatus is a species of sea slug, a sacoglossan, a marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusk in the family Plakobranchidae. [1] It is found in shallow water in the Indo-Pacific region.

Contents

Distribution

This species occurs in the Indo-Pacific. [1] Recent work on the photosynthetic abilities of Plakobranchus reveals that P. ocellatus is actually a species complex consisting of at least four distinct clades. [2]

Description

Plakobranchus ocellatus, head end towards the left Placobranchus ocellatus001.jpg
Plakobranchus ocellatus, head end towards the left

The body is broad, truncate, and rather flattened, up to 4 cm (1.6 in) long. [1] The head is flat and squarish, the rhinophores being folded longitudinally. The mouth is at the front apex of the head and the eyes are very close together, being visible through the semi-transparent skin of the head. The dorsal surface of the sea slug has a number of longitudinal ridges, but when at rest, the parapodia are folded up over the midline of the body so that the dorsal surface is concealed from view. On the underside, the foot is broad and long, but is not clearly demarcated from the mantle. [3] The ground colour of this sea slug is usually pale green, beige, or cream with large ocelli (spots similar to eyespots) of cream, brown, pink, and purple in varying shades. The sole of the foot also has ocelli. [1]

Dorsal view of a freshly collected intact Plakobranchus ocellatus showing its head, rhinophores and parapodia. Plakobranchus ocellatus 3.png
Dorsal view of a freshly collected intact Plakobranchus ocellatus showing its head, rhinophores and parapodia.
Dorsal view of an anesthetized individual of Plakobranchus ocellatus with spread parapodia. Stomach and branched digestive glands are visible. The tissue region in the red square was dissected and used for DNA extraction in the study by Maeda T. et al. (2012). Plakobranchus ocellatus 4.png
Dorsal view of an anesthetized individual of Plakobranchus ocellatus with spread parapodia. Stomach and branched digestive glands are visible. The tissue region in the red square was dissected and used for DNA extraction in the study by Maeda T. et al. (2012).

Habitat

These seaslugs live in sheltered, shallow water habitats with stones or gravel and silt. [1] They feed on a broad food spectrum, including members of the genera Halimeda , Caulerpa , Udotea , Acetabularia and further unidentified algae, with an emphasis on Halimeda macroloba . [2]

Related Research Articles

Sea slug Group of marine invertebrates with varying levels of resemblance to terrestrial slugs

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 actually gastropods, i.e. they are sea snails that over evolutionary time have either completely lost their shells, or have seemingly lost their shells due to having a greatly reduced or internal shell. The name "sea slug" is most often applied to nudibranchs, as well as to a paraphyletic set of other marine gastropods without obvious shells.

Opisthobranchia Informal group of gastropods

Opisthobranchs is now an informal name for a large and diverse group of specialized complex gastropods which used to be united in the subclass Opisthobranchia. That taxon is no longer considered to represent a monophyletic grouping.

Sacoglossa Clade of gastropods

Sacoglossa, commonly known as the sacoglossans or the "sap-sucking sea slugs", are a clade of small sea slugs and sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks that belong to the clade Heterobranchia. Sacoglossans live by ingesting the cellular contents of algae, hence the adjective "sap-sucking".

Kleptoplasty

Kleptoplasty or kleptoplastidy is a symbiotic phenomenon whereby plastids, notably chloroplasts from algae, are sequestered by host organisms. 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 predator. The term was coined in 1990 to describe chloroplast symbiosis.

<i>Elysia chlorotica</i> Species of gastropod

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 of gastropods. 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 of these "solar-powered sea slugs". It lives in a subcellular endosymbiotic relationship with chloroplasts of the marine heterokont alga Vaucheria litorea.

Limapontiidae Family of gastropods

Limapontiidae is a taxonomic family of small to minute sacoglossan sea slugs. These are marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusks.

Plakobranchidae Family of gastropods

Plakobranchidae is a family of sea slugs, marine opistobranch gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Plakobranchoidea. They superficially resemble nudibranchs but they are sacoglossans, members of the clade Sacoglossa within the Opisthobranchia.

<i>Elysia crispata</i> Species of gastropod

Elysia crispata, common name the lettuce sea slug, is a large and colorful species of sea slug, a marine gastropod mollusk.

<i>Elysia timida</i> Species of gastropod

Elysia timida is a species of sacoglossan sea slug, a marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusk.

<i>Elysia pusilla</i> Species of gastropod

Elysia pusilla is a species of small sea slug, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Plakobranchidae. It is a sacoglossan.

Juliidae Family of gastropods

Juliidae, common name the bivalved gastropods, is a family of minute sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks or micromollusks in the superfamily Oxynooidea, an opisthobranch group. These are sacoglossan (sap-sucking) sea snails, and many of them are green in color.

<i>Bosellia</i> Genus of gastropods

Bosellia is a genus of sea slugs, marine gastropod mollusks within the superfamily Plakobranchoidea.

Platyhedylidae is a family of sacoglossan sea slugs, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Platyhedylidae.

<i>Bosellia mimetica</i> Species of gastropod

Bosellia mimetica is a species of sea slug, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Boselliidae.

<i>Costasiella kuroshimae</i> Species of mollusc

Costasiella kuroshimae, also known as a "leaf slug" or "leaf sheep", or "salty ocean caterpillar" is a species of sacoglossan sea slug. Costasiella kuroshimae are shell-less marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusks in the family Costasiellidae. They range in size from 5 millimetres (0.20 in) to 1 centimetre (0.39 in) in length.

<i>Ercolania</i> Genus of gastropods

Ercolania is a genus of small sacoglossan sea slugs, shell-less marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusks in the family Limapontiidae.

Oxynoe antillarum is a species of small sea snail or sea slug, a bubble snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Oxynoidae.

<i>Plakobranchus</i> Genus of gastropods

Plakobranchus is a genus of sea slugs, sacoglossans, marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusks in the family Plakobranchidae.

<i>Elysia clarki</i> Species of gastropod

Elysia clarki is a species of sacoglossan sea slug, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Plakobranchidae.

<i>Elysia diomedea</i> Species of gastropod

Elysia diomedea is a species of sea slug, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Plakobranchidae.

References

This article incorporates CC-BY-3.0 text from the reference. [1]

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Gofas, S. (2014). Plakobranchus ocellatus van Hasselt, 1824. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2014-11-08
  2. 1 2 Christa G., Wescott L., Schäberle T.F., König G.M., Wägele H., (2013) What remains after 2 months of starvation? Analysis of sequestered algae in a photosynthetic slug, Plakobranchus ocellatus (Sacoglossa, Opisthobranchia), by barcoding. Planta. Feb;237(2):559-72. doi: 10.1007/s00425-012-1788-6. Epub 2012 Oct 30.
  3. ↑ Rao, K.V. (2015). "On two opisthobranchiate molluscs, Placobranchus ocellatus Hasselt and Discodoris boholiensis Bergh, from Indian waters not hitherto been recorded" (PDF). Journal of the Marine Biological Association of India. 3 (1&2): 253–255.
  4. ↑ Maeda T., Hirose E., Chikaraishi Y., Kawato M., Takishita K. et al. (2012). "Algivore or Phototroph? Plakobranchus ocellatus (Gastropoda) Continuously Acquires Kleptoplasts and Nutrition from Multiple Algal Species in Nature". PLoS ONE 7(7): e42024. doi : 10.1371/journal.pone.0042024
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