Phyllodesmium longicirrum
{{Short description|Species of gastropod}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Phyllodesmium longicirrum.jpg
| image_caption = Phyllodesmium longicirrum, head end towards the lower left, crawling on its prey the soft coral Sarcophyton trocheliophorum
| taxon = Phyllodesmium longicirrum
| authority = (Bergh, 1905)
| synonyms_ref =
| synonyms =
- Myrrhine longicirra
- Phyllodesmium longicirra
}}
Phyllodesmium longicirrum, common name the solar-powered phyllodesmium, is a species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Facelinidae.Bouchet, P. (2015). [http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=548881 Phyllodesmium longicirrum.] In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2015-10-07
Distribution
The distribution of Phyllodesmium longicirrum includes Australia and Indonesia.Rudman, W.B., 1998 (October 11) [http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/phyllong Phyllodesmium longicirrum (Bergh, 1905).]
Description
This is a very large species, growing to at least 140 mm. Phyllodesmium longicirrum contains photosynthetic zooxanthellae, which allow it to draw energy from sunlight, hence its common name, the solar-powered phyllodesmium.Rudman W. B. (1981). "The anatomy and biology of alcyonarian-feeding aeolid opisthobranch molluscs and their development of symbiosis with zooxanthellae". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 72(3): 219-262. {{doi|10.1111/j.1096-3642.1981.tb01571.x}}. This is actually a misleading name, as several other species of Phyllodesmium are also capable of photosynthesis, although this is developed to the greatest extreme in this species.Rudman W. B. (1991). "Further studies on the taxonomy and biology of the octocoral-feeding genus Phyllodesmium Ehrenberg, 1831 (Nudibranchia: Aeolidacea)". Journal of Molluscan Studies 57(2): 167–203. [https://archive.today/20130113144633/http://mollus.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/57/2/167 abstract].Rudman, W.B., 1998 (October 11) [http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet/solarpow Solar-powered sea slugs.]
Ecology
Phyllodesmium longicirrum feeds on soft coral Sarcophyton trocheliophorum (family Alcyoniidae).
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Phyllodesmium longicirrum}}
- [http://slugsite.us/bow/nudiwk88.html Phyllodesmium longicirrum at Slug Site, Miller, M.]
{{Taxonbar|from=Q3381935}}