Phyllodesmium longicirrum
Species of gastropod
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Phyllodesmium longicirrum, common name the solar-powered phyllodesmium, is a species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Facelinidae.[1]
| Phyllodesmium longicirrum | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Phyllodesmium longicirrum, head end towards the lower left, crawling on its prey the soft coral Sarcophyton trocheliophorum | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Order: | Nudibranchia |
| Suborder: | Aeolidacea |
| Family: | Myrrhinidae |
| Genus: | Phyllodesmium |
| Species: | P. longicirrum |
| Binomial name | |
| Phyllodesmium longicirrum (Bergh, 1905) | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Distribution
The distribution of Phyllodesmium longicirrum includes Australia and Indonesia.[2]
Description
This is a very large species, growing to at least 140 mm. Phyllodesmium longicirrum contains photosynthetic zooxanthellae, which allow it to draw energy from sunlight, hence its common name, the solar-powered phyllodesmium.[3] This is actually a misleading name, as several other species of Phyllodesmium are also capable of photosynthesis, although this is developed to the greatest extreme in this species.[4][5]
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Ecology
Phyllodesmium longicirrum feeds on soft coral Sarcophyton trocheliophorum (family Alcyoniidae).[2]
