Kingdom Animalia Family Plakobranchidae Scientific name Elysia pusilla Higher classification Elysia | Superfamily Plakobranchoidea Genus Elysia Phylum Mollusca Rank Species | |
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Similar Elysia, Plakobranchidae, Elysia ornata, Elysia rufescens, Plakobranchus | ||
Elysia pusilla is a species of small sea slug, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Plakobranchidae. It is a sacoglossan.
Elysia pusilla feeds on the calcified green alga Halimeda and incorporates functioning chloroplasts into its body, thus it is known as a solar-powered sea slug. It is found in shallow water in tropical regions of the Indo-Pacific wherever its host species grows.
Description
Elysia pusilla is a cryptic sea slug which grows to about 3 centimetres (1.2 in) long. Its colour and shape both match that of the alga on which it is feeding; on older foliage it is flattened and a mottled pale green, on fresh new growth it is a brighter shade of green and on the cylindrical shoots that sometimes develop, it adopts a more circular cross section.