''Elysia ornata'', commonly known as ornate elysia or ornate leaf slug, is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of
sea slug
Sea slug is a common name for some marine invertebrates with varying levels of resemblance to terrestrial slugs. Most creatures known as sea slugs are gastropods, i.e. they are sea snails (marine gastropod mollusks) that over evolutionary t ...
, a
marine
Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean.
Marine or marines may refer to:
Ocean
* Maritime (disambiguation)
* Marine art
* Marine biology
* Marine debris
* Marine habitats
* Marine life
* Marine pollution
Military
* ...
gastropod
The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda ().
This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. T ...
mollusk
Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is e ...
. This sea slug superficially resembles a
nudibranch, yet it does not belong to that suborder of gastropods. Instead it is a member of the closely related clade
Sacoglossa, the "sap-sucking" sea slugs.
Description
''Elysia ornata'' can grow to about in length.
It is a translucent greenish-yellow colour speckled with white and black. It has broad
parapodia
In invertebrates, the term parapodium ( Gr. ''para'', beyond or beside + ''podia'', feet; plural: parapodia) refers to lateral outgrowths or protrusions from the body. Parapodia are predominantly found in annelids, where they are paired, unjointed ...
each edged with an orange band and a black margin. The
rhinophores are similarly coloured with a band of orange and dark tips.
[''Elysia ornata'']
SeaSlugForum. Retrieved 2012-01-24. Its main food source is algae and are found on submergent vegetation.
Distribution
''Elysia ornata'' is a tropical species found in both the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.
It is found in the
benthic zone
The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from ancient Greek, βένθος (bénthos), meaning " ...
at depths of .
References
External links
''Elysia ornata'' – WoRMs
* ttp://fran.cornu.free.fr/affichage/affichage_nom.php?id_espece=777 ''Elysia ornata'' – Sous les Mers
Plakobranchidae
Gastropods described in 1840
{{Placobranchidae-stub