Costasiella kuroshimae

Costasiella kuroshimae
	Costasiella cf. kuroshimae on Avrainvillea erecta. Locality: Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef. The length of the slug is about 1 cm.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
(unranked):	clade Heterobranchia; informal group Opisthobranchia; clade Sacoglossa; clade Plakobranchacea
Superfamily:	Limapontioidea
Family:	Costasiellidae
Genus:	Costasiella
Species:	C. kuroshimae
Binomial name
	Costasiella kuroshimae; Ichikawa, 1993

Costasiella kuroshimae, also known as a "leaf slug"[1] or "leaf sheep",[2] or "salty ocean caterpillar" is a species of sacoglossan sea slug. Costasiella kuroshimae are shell-less marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusks in the family Costasiellidae.[3] They range in size from 5 millimetres (0.20 in) to 1 centimetre (0.39 in) in length.

Discovered in 1993 off the coast of the Japanese island Kuroshima, leaf slugs have been found in the waters near Japan, the Philippines, and Indonesia. They have two dark eyes and two rhinophores that emerge from the tops of their heads that look not unlike sheep's ears or insect antennae, hence the common name "leaf sheep." The rhinophores have fine hairs that sense chemicals in the water, enabling Costasiella kuroshimae and other sea slugs to find food sources.[4]

Costasiella kuroshimae are capable of a chemical process called kleptoplasty, in which they retain the chloroplasts from the algae they feed on. Absorbing the chloroplasts from algae then enables them to indirectly perform photosynthesis.[5]

The type locality is Kuroshima, Taketomi, Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands.[6]

A frontal picture of a Costasiella kuroshimae.
Costasiella kuroshimae taken in Secret Bay Anilao dive site, Batangas, Philippines

References

"These Cute Sea Slugs Are The Sheep Of The Sea". IFLScience. Retrieved 2020-07-17.
Schelling A. "Sheep Of The Sea Are Cutest Slugs We've Ever Seen". The Dodo. Retrieved 2020-07-17.
Bouchet P (2014). "Costasiella kuroshimae Ichikawa 1993". World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
Stanton, Kristen M. (October 26, 2020). "Leaf Sheep Facts: The Ocean's Most Adorable Sea Slugs". UniGuide.
Händeler K, Grzymbowski YP, Krug PJ, Wägele H (December 2009). "Functional chloroplasts in metazoan cells - a unique evolutionary strategy in animal life". Frontiers in Zoology. 6 (1): 28. doi:10.1186/1742-9994-6-28. PMC 2790442. PMID 19951407.
Jensen KR (2007). "Biogeography of the Sacoglossa (Mollusca, Opisthobranchia)" (PDF). Bonner Zoologische Beiträge. 55 (3/4): 255–81. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-10-05.

External links

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[1] "These Cute Sea Slugs Are The Sheep Of The Sea". IFLScience. Retrieved 2020-07-17.

[2] Schelling A. "Sheep Of The Sea Are Cutest Slugs We've Ever Seen". The Dodo. Retrieved 2020-07-17.

[WoRMS-3] Bouchet P (2014). "Costasiella kuroshimae Ichikawa 1993". World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 17 January 2015.

[4] Stanton, Kristen M. (October 26, 2020). "Leaf Sheep Facts: The Ocean's Most Adorable Sea Slugs". UniGuide.

[5] Händeler K, Grzymbowski YP, Krug PJ, Wägele H (December 2009). "Functional chloroplasts in metazoan cells - a unique evolutionary strategy in animal life". Frontiers in Zoology. 6 (1): 28. doi:10.1186/1742-9994-6-28. PMC 2790442. PMID 19951407.

[Jensen_2007-6] Jensen KR (2007). "Biogeography of the Sacoglossa (Mollusca, Opisthobranchia)" (PDF). Bonner Zoologische Beiträge. 55 (3/4): 255–81. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-10-05.