Elysia catulus
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| Elysia catulus | |
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Family: | Plakobranchidae |
| Genus: | Elysia |
| Species: | E. catulus |
| Binomial name | |
| Elysia catulus | |
Elysia catulus is a small species of sea slug, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Plakobranchidae. This sea slug resembles a nudibranch, but it is not closely related to that order of gastropods, instead it is a sacoglossan. The specific name "catulus" comes from the Greek and means "little cat", referring to the superficial resemblance that the head of this slug bears to the head of a cat.[2]
Elysia catulus grows to about 6 millimetres (0.24 in) in length. The body is mainly black but this is tinged with green as the gut contents can be seen through the skin. There are three white streaks on the head, one central and the other two running diagonally past the eye. There are also two or three white patches on the parapodia, the fleshy protrusions on either side of the body.[2]