Plakobranchus ocellatus

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Plakobranchus ocellatus
Placobranchus ocellatus002.jpg
Two Plakobranchus ocellatus sea slugs facing in opposite directions
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Opisthobranchia</span> Informal group of gastropods

Opisthobranchs is a now 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sacoglossa</span> Clade of gastropods

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.

<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. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Limapontiidae</span> Family of gastropods

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plakobranchidae</span> Family of gastropods

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

<i>Placida dendritica</i> Species of gastropod

Placida dendritica is a species of minute sea slug, a marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusk or micromollusk in the family Limapontiidae.

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

Elysia crispata, common name the lettuce sea slug or lettuce 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. Found in the Mediterranean and nearby parts of the Atlantic, it is herbivorous, feeding on various algae in shallow water.

<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.

<i>Bosellia mimetica</i> Species of sea slug

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.

<i>Costasiella kuroshimae</i> Species of mollusc (sea slug)

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.

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

<i>Julia exquisita</i> Species of gastropod

Julia exquisita is a small species of sea snail in the family Juliidae.

Aplysiopsis sinusmensalis, the Table Bay nudibranch, is a species of sacoglossan sea slug, a shell-less marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusk in the family Hermaeidae.

<i>Plakobranchus</i> Genus of gastropods

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

<i>Costasiella ocellifera</i> Species of gastropod

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.

<i>Elysia marginata</i> Species of sea slug

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.

<i>Costasiella nonatoi</i> Species of mollusc (sea slug)

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.

<i>Elysia atroviridis</i> Species of sea slug

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.

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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