''Phyllidia coelestis'' is a
species of
sea slug, a
sacoglossan, a shell-less
marine
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Marine or marines may refer to:
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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 ...
mollusc
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 esti ...
in the
family Phyllidiidae.
Distribution and habitat
This species occurs in the tropical Indo/West-Pacific. It lives on the external slope of
coral reefs, on top of the reef and in the lagoon, also down to 30 m in depth. Found in the western Pacific Ocean, South China Sea, Timor Sea and across the Indian Ocean to South Africa.
Description
This sea slug is up to 6 cm in length. The body is elongated and slug-shaped. The
mantle
A mantle is a piece of clothing, a type of cloak. Several other meanings are derived from that.
Mantle may refer to:
*Mantle (clothing), a cloak-like garment worn mainly by women as fashionable outerwear
**Mantle (vesture), an Eastern Orthodox ve ...
has a grey-blue background color; the margin is covered with many small tubercles. Bigger tubercles that are yellow capped, run along the median line.
There are also three black longitudinal lines. Two of them are on each side of the mantle, and one on a median line ending on the anterior part as a "Y". This particular line shape constitutes a distinctive element to identify this species.
In this species the
rhinophores possess lamellae, and are yellow in color.
Behaviour
This species is
benthic
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 "t ...
and diurnal. Because of its aposematic colors, it is able to crawl around in the daylight to feed. ''Phyllidia coelestis'' has a diet based on
sponges.
References
* P.L. Beesley, G.J.B. Ross & A. Wells,"Mollusca-The southern synthesis", vol.5, CSIRO, 1998,
* David Behrens, "Nudibranch behaviour", Newworld Publication INC., 2005,
* Gary Cobb & Richard Willan, "Undersea jewels- a colour guide to nudibranchs", Australian Biological Resources Study, 2006,
External links
Sea Slugs Forum, Phyllidia coelestis*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3381846
Phyllidiidae
Molluscs of the Indian Ocean
Molluscs of the Pacific Ocean
Gastropods described in 1905