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Phylum Mollusca > Class Gastropoda > sea slugs > Order Sacoglossa
Strawberry slug
Costasiella sp.*
Family Costasiellidae
updated Jun 2020
Where seen? This tiny and superbly camouflaged slug is often found on solitary fan green seaweeds (Avrainvillea sp.) which they feed on. At low tide, many slugs are often seen on one sea fan, usually clustered near the base of this seaweed. It was previously in Family Limapontiidae. Divers sometimes call it 'Shaun the Sheep'.

Features: To about 1cm or smaller. Short, soft body with lots of short finger-like projections (cerata) that are transparent at the tips and filled with green stuff. Some have black spots, others with white stripes on the cerata. Tiny black eyes close together between the pair of long rhinophores. No oral tentacles.

It is difficult to tell apart the species in the field, but in general, Costasiella paweli and Costasiella kuroshimae look rather similar with cerata that are dark green, tips with bands of white and orange or pink. Costasiella usagi cerata have thin silvery lines along the length.

Pulau Hantu, Nov 09
Photo shared by James Koh on flickr.

Tanah Merah, Dec 09

Their eyes are close together
in between the rhinophores.
Tanah Merah, Dec 09

*Species are difficult to positively identify without close examination.
On this website, they are grouped by external features for convenience of display.
Strawberry slugs on Singapore shores
On wildsingapore flickr
Other sightings on Singapore shores

Changi, May 18
Photo shared by Toh Chay Hoon on facebook.

Changi, May 18
Photo shared by Toh Chay Hoon on facebook.

Chek Jawa, Jun 18
Photo shared by Toh Chay Hoon on facebook.

Chek Jawa, Jul 16
Photo shared by Toh Chay Hoon on facebook.

Chek Jawa, Jul 16
Photo shared by Toh Chay Hoon on facebook.

Chek Jawa, Jun 17
Photo shared by Toh Chay Hoon on facebook.

Pulau Sekudu, Oct 11
Photo shared by Rene Ong on facebook.
Beting Bronok, Jul 20
Photo shared by Loh Kok Sheng on facebook.

Tuas, Dec 14
Photo shared by Loh Kok Sheng on hig blog.

Tanah Merah, Oct 09
Photo shared by James Koh on his blog.

East Coast Park, Mar 10
Photo shared by Loh Kok Sheng on flickr.

Sentosa Tg Rimau, Aug 20
Photo shared by Jianlin Liu on facebook.

Lazarus Island, Oct 17
Photo shared by Jianlin Liu on facebook.

Pulau Tekukor,
Photo shared by James Koh on flickr.


Kusu Island, Jul 20
Photo shared by Dayna Cheah on facebook.

Kusu Island, Jun 15
Photo shared by Toh Chay Hoon on facebook.

St John's Island, Feb 11
Photo shared by Loh Kok Sheng on flickr.

St. John's Island, Feb 11
Photo shared by James Koh on his blog.

Big Sisters' Island, Feb 17
Photo shared by Marcus Ng on facebook.
Big Sisters' Island, Jan 11
Photo shared by James Koh on flickr.
Small Sisters, Aug 21
Photo shared by Jianlin LIu on facebook.

Pulau Jong, Aug 21
Photo shared by Vincent Choo on facebook.
Pulau Hantu, Nov 09
Photo shared by Marcus Ng on flickr.
Pulau Hantu, Aug 14
Photo shared by Marcus Ng on flickr.

Cyrene Reef, Apr 10
Photo shared by Toh Chay Hoon on her blog
.
Cyrene Reef, Jul 10
Photo shared by Toh Chay Hoon on her blog.

Pulau Semakau South, Feb 16
Photo shared by Toh Chay Hoon on facebook.

Pulau Semakau, Aug 11
Photo shared by James Koh on flickr.

Terumbu Bemban, May 21
Photo shared by James Koh on flickr.

Terumbu Raya, Jun 18
Photo shared by Toh Chay Hoon on facebook.

Terumbu Semakau, May 17
Photo shared by Toh Chay Hoon on facebook.
Beting Bemban Besar, May 17
Photo shared by Toh Chay Hoon on facebook.

Terumbu Pempang Tengah, May 11
Photo shared by Rene Ong on facebook.

Terumbu Pempang Laut, Apr 11
Photo shared by James Koh on his blog.
Terumbu Pempang Laut, Aug 21
Photo shared by Toh Chay Hoon on facebook.

Pulau Pawai, Dec 09
Photo shared by James Koh on his flickr.

Pulau Sudong, Dec 09
Photo shared by James Koh on his flickr.

Pulau Sudong, Dec 09
Photo shared by Toh Chay Hoon on her flickr.
shared by Neo Mei Lin on her blog
Family Costasiellidae recorded for Singapore
from Tan Siong Kiat and Henrietta P. M. Woo, 2010 Preliminary Checklist of The Molluscs of Singapore.
^K. R. Jensen. Sacoglossa (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Heterobranchia) from northern coasts of Singapore.
**from WORMS

  Family Costasiellidae
  Costasiella kuroshimae
Costasiella paweli
Costasiella usagi
Links

References

  • K. R. Jensen. Sacoglossa (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Heterobranchia) from northern coasts of Singapore. 10 July 2015. The Comprehensive Marine Biodiversity Survey: Johor Straits International Workshop (2012) The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 2015 Supplement No. 31, Pp. 226-249.
  • Kathe R. Jensen, Patrick J. Krug, Anne Dupont, Masayoshi Nishina. 21 October 2014. A review of taxonomy and phylogenetic relationships in the genus Costasiella (Heterobranchia: Sacoglossa), with a description of a new species. Journal of Molluscan Studies (2014) 80 (5): 562-574.
  • Kathe R. Jensen. 30 Dec 2009. Sacoglossa (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Opisthobranchia) from Singapore. The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, Supplement 22: 207-223.
  • Tan Siong Kiat and Henrietta P. M. Woo, 2010 Preliminary Checklist of The Molluscs of Singapore (pdf), Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, National University of Singapore.
  • Humann, Paul and Ned Deloach. 2010. Reef Creature Identification: Tropical Pacific New World Publications. 497pp.
  • Kuiter, Rudie H and Helmut Debelius. 2009. World Atlas of Marine Fauna . IKAN-Unterwasserachiv. 723pp.
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