17 new brilliantly colored species of sea slugs described

by Shreya Dasgupta on 1 November 2018

Researchers have just described 17 stunning new species of sea slugs that live among coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific region.

All the species belong to the genus Hypselodoris, and come in a wide variety of colors.

Researchers reorganized the genus Hypselodoris, adding new-to-science species to the group, and revealing secrets of the evolution of their brilliant color patterns.

From lavender to orange, pink to yellow polka dots — researchers have just described 17 stunning new species of sea slugs that live among coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific region.

All the species belong to the genus Hypselodoris, a group of colorful sea slugs that make for striking photo models. In a recent study, researchers from the California Academy of Sciences (CAS) reorganized the genus Hypselodoris, adding new-to-science species to the group and revealing secrets of the evolution of their brilliant color patterns.

Discovery of the new species is a great feeling, said Terrence Gosliner, senior curator at the Department of Invertebrate Zoology at the CAS. “Several species [of Hypselodoris] had not been studied previously from a genetic perspective and we had reason to believe that we had discovered a bunch of new species, based on their external appearance,” he told Mongabay.

Among the new species are Hypselodoris confetti, a sea slug that looks like it’s covered in shreds of brightly colored paper; H. rositoi, named for its distinctive rose-pink shade; and H. skyleri, a sea slug with white spots that resemble stars in the sky and that’s named after co-author Rebecca Johnson’s son, Skyler (Sky) Rodgers.

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Beneficial self-harming: Sea slugs protect themselves by self-cutting

Date:January 4, 2016

Source:Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB)

In the seagrass beds of the eastern Pacific Ocean, a strange game of cat and mouse unfolds. The otherworldly, jellyfish-like hooded sea slug, Melibe leonina, sits on a blade of eelgrass and unfurls its tentacled oral hood. It sucks in a small planktonic shrimp, closing its oral hood like a Venus flytrap and propelling the shrimp down its digestive tract.

Unbeknownst to the sea slug, a crab approaches and reaches out a wicked claw to grab one of the many plate-like appendages running along the slug's back. A snap of a claw and the plate comes free -- not torn away by the crab, but rather cut free by the sea slug itself, as it swims away completely unscathed.

This is a scenario studied by University of Victoria developmental biologist Louise Page, who has been fascinated by this process of self-cutting, or autotomy, in the hooded sea slug ever since she was a master's student. A colleague was culturing these odd creatures at the University of Washington's Friday Harbor Marine Laboratory, and Page was so taken with their unique anatomy and behaviors, studying them became a focus of her career.

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Cute 'sea bunnies' become viral sensation in Japan

Fans create web sites for sea slugs, nudibranchs and marine gastropods

By Julian Ryall, Tokyo

12:20PM BST 17 Jul 2015

A genus of sea slugs, nudibranchs and shell-less marine gastropods that resembles fluffy rabbits have become an internet sensation in Japan.

Native to the Pacific Ocean and found as far north as the cooler waters off Japan, the Jorunna genus of sea creatures have become a hit here since being dubbed "sea bunnies".

Some of the sub-species can grow to 8 inches in length, but it is the tiny creatures what appear to have fluffy "coats" and delicate ears that have really triggered the fascination in Japan - a nation notorious for its love of "kawaii", or "cute".

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'Solar-powered' sea slugs can survive in the dark

The creatures may not rely on the photosynthetic ability of the chloroplasts that lend them their colour.

· Karen Ravn

They’ve been called 'solar-powered slugs' and 'leaves that crawl' — species of sacoglossan sea slug that assimilate the photosynthetic organelles in the algae they eat, causing their bodies to turn bright green. But it turns out that these slugs can survive months of starvation even when their photosynthetic capacity is massively reduced, casting doubt on the widely-accepted theory that they rely on photosynthesis to feed themselves when there’s nothing around to eat.

Read on

Sea slug's 'disposable penis' surprises

By Rebecca Morelle, Science reporter, BBC World Service

A sea slug that is able to detach, re-grow and then re-use its penis has surprised scientists.

Japanese researchers observed the bizarre mating behaviour in a species called Chromodoris reticulata, which is found in the Pacific Ocean.

They believe this is the first creature known that can repeatedly copulate with what they describe as a "disposable penis".

The study is published in the Royal Society's journal Biology Letters.

Male and female

The sex life of the sea slug is complicated even before detachable organs come into play.

“I haven't seen anything like this before”, Bernard Picton National Museums Northern Ireland

Almost all of these creatures, which are also known as nudibranchs, are thought to be "simultaneous hermaphrodites". This means they have both male and female sexual organs and can use them both at the same time.

Bernard Picton, curator of marine invertebrates at the National Museums Northern Ireland, explained: "The genital apparatus is on the right hand side of the body. So two nudibranchs come together and one faces one way and one faces the other way, with the right hand side of their bodies touching.

Continued:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21431678

Going Green: The Most Plantlike Animals

There's a species of sea slug, Elysia chlorotica, that only needs to eat when it is very young.

It gorges on algae, stealing their ability to harness the sun's energy, and then proceeds to sunbathe for the rest of its 10-month life.

But it's hardly alone: Other animals also take on some traits of plants in order to give them an edge against competitors. From solar-powered aphids to algae-embedded salamanders, these animals serve as living biology lessons and could be used to better understand immunity and improve gene therapy.

Continued:  http://www.livescience.com/24844-plant-like-animals.html

Psychedelic sea slugs photographed

Click to enlarge

http://e-edition.metroherald.ie/2010/03/19/ - p15.