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| sea slugs text index | photo index |
| Phylum Mollusca > Class Gastropoda > sea slugs > Order Sacoglossa > Family Elysiidae |
| Ornate
leaf slug Elysia ornata Family Elysiidae updated Oct 08 Where seen? Often mistaken for leafy seaweed, this slug is seen on all our shores. However, it appears to be seasonal. Sometimes seen in large numbers, at other times, none is to be seen. Features: 4-6cm. Body long with a pair of very large 'wings' (called parapodia). The overall body colour of the slug may be shades of green, yellow or even white. It is believed that the colour depends on how much and what seaweed is in the animal's digestive system. But all have a black margin on the edge of the parapodia, with an orange or yellow margin next to the black. There is a pair of long thick tentacles with tips in the same colour banding as the body edge. The body may have black spots. It may also have white spots, which are glands that secrete a white substance that may repel predators. The parapodia are often held in ruffles so that the animal resembles seaweed. What does it eat? This slug is believed to eat the Hairy green seaweed (Bryopsis sp.) Indeed, leaf slugs are commonly seen there is a bloom of this green feathery seaweed on the shores. See details in the Family Elysiidae for more about how the slug eats and uses the seaweed's chloroplasts. |
 St. John's Island, Jun 07  |
 Mating slugs St. John's Island, May 05 |
 The white bits are the reproductive organs. |
 Sentosa, Apr 04 |
Ornate leaf slugs on Singapore shores
 Sentosa, Jan 05 |
 Pulau Sekudu, Apr 06 |
 Sentosa, Jun 04 |
| Elysia ornata @ Tanah Merah 06Dec2009 from BeachBum on Vimeo. |
Links
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IKAN-Unterwasserachiv, Frankfurt. 321 pp.|
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