Phyllodesmium longicirrum

Phyllodesmium longicirrum
	Phyllodesmium longicirrum, head end towards the lower left, crawling on its prey the soft coral Sarcophyton trocheliophorum
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Order:	Nudibranchia
Suborder:	Cladobranchia
Family:	Myrrhinidae
Genus:	Phyllodesmium
Species:	P. longicirrum
Binomial name
	Phyllodesmium longicirrum; (Bergh, 1905)
Synonyms
	Myrrhine longicirra; Phyllodesmium longicirra;

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]

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]

Ecology

Phyllodesmium longicirrum feeds on soft coral Sarcophyton trocheliophorum (family Alcyoniidae).^[2]

References

^ Bouchet, P. (2015). Phyllodesmium longicirrum. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2015-10-07
^ ^a ^b Rudman, W.B., 1998 (October 11) Phyllodesmium longicirrum (Bergh, 1905). [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.
^ Rudman W. B. (1981). "The anatomy and biology of alcyonarian-feeding aeolid opisthobranch molluscs and their development of symbiosis with zooxanthellae". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 72(3): 219-262. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1981.tb01571.x.
^ Rudman W. B. (1991). "Further studies on the taxonomy and biology of the octocoral-feeding genus Phyllodesmium Ehrenberg, 1831 (Nudibranchia: Aeolidacea)". Journal of Molluscan Studies 57(2): 167–203. abstract.
^ Rudman, W.B., 1998 (October 11) Solar-powered sea slugs. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.

External links

Phyllodesmium longicirrum at Slug Site, Miller, M.

[1] Bouchet, P. (2015). Phyllodesmium longicirrum. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2015-10-07

[SSF-2] Rudman, W.B., 1998 (October 11) Phyllodesmium longicirrum (Bergh, 1905). [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.

[Rudman_1981-3] Rudman W. B. (1981). "The anatomy and biology of alcyonarian-feeding aeolid opisthobranch molluscs and their development of symbiosis with zooxanthellae". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 72(3): 219-262. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1981.tb01571.x.

[Rudman1991-4] Rudman W. B. (1991). "Further studies on the taxonomy and biology of the octocoral-feeding genus Phyllodesmium Ehrenberg, 1831 (Nudibranchia: Aeolidacea)". Journal of Molluscan Studies 57(2): 167–203. abstract.

[5] Rudman, W.B., 1998 (October 11) Solar-powered sea slugs. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.

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