Tendril
slug
Lobiger viridis
Family Oxynoidae
updated
Oct 10
Where
seen? Seen once on Changi among seaweeds.
Features:
To about
3cm. It has a green shell and four long 'fingers' sticking out of
the sides of its body that look like tendrils of a seaweed. These
tendrils can be 'rolled up', making the slug very difficult to see
among round seagrape seaweeds, for example.
The tendrils can also be unrolled. This may be done to deter predators.
The tendrils can also be dropped off (autotomized) whereupon the tendril
continues to wriggle and thus distract the predator.
|
Changi, Jun 05 |
| What
does it eat? Reports find this slug often among Oval
sea grape seaweeds (Caulerpa racemosa). The tendrils
may also help the slug obtain food from photosynthesis. Like
other sacoglossans, this slug retains in its body, the chloroplasts
obtained from its seaweed food. |
|
|
|
Links
References
- Debelius,
Helmut, 2001. Nudibranchs
and Sea Snails: Indo-Pacific Field Guide
IKAN-Unterwasserachiv, Frankfurt. 321 pp.
- Wells, Fred
E. and Clayton W. Bryce. 2000. Slugs
of Western Australia: A guide to the species from the Indian to
West Pacific Oceans.
Western Australian Museum. 184 pp.
- Coleman,
Neville. 2001. 1001
Nudibranchs: Catalogue of Indo-Pacific Sea Slugs. Neville
Coleman’s Underwater Geographic Pty Ltd, Australia.144pp.
- Coleman,
Neville, 1989. Nudibranchs
of the South Pacific Vol 1. 64 pp.
- 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.
- Gosliner,
Terrence M., David W. Behrens and Gary C. Williams. 1996. Coral
Reef Animals of the Indo-Pacific: Animal life from Africa to Hawai’I
exclusive of the vertebrates
Sea Challengers. 314pp.
|
|
|
