Plakobranchus ocellatus in aquaria

January 15, 2003
From: Tom Wyatt

Hi Bill,
The following is some sort of color variant of Notodoris serenae I think, but I would like a little better opinion (read this as info from a more experienced eye than mine) for ID and any feeding info that you might have. It has been observed eating acoel flatworms and is most likely from Indonesian waters at a depth of less than 1 to possibly 6m, although I cannot give you much more information than that, as it was a hitch hiker on collected rock.
Any suggestions/comments?
Tom Wyatt

tdwyatt@aol.com

Note: see message from Mary Middlebrook stating photo is hers of an animal from Tonga.

Dear Tom,
It's definitely not a species of Notodoris. It is a sand-dwelling species of sacoglossan sea slug called Plakobranchus ocellatus. I would be interested in hearing more about it eating acoel flatworms as sacoglossans are herbivorous, that is they feed on algae, and many, including Plakobranchus store functional chloroplasts from the algae in their own bodies. See the page on Solar powered animals for more information. I am not actually sure what algae Plakobranchus feeds on to obtain its chloroplasts. Some flatworms also have symbiotic chloroplasts in their bodies. It would indeed be interesting, if highly unlikely, if Plakobranchus obtained its chloroplasts by ingesting 'solar-powered' flatworms. I look forward to hearing more about your observations,
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2003 (Jan 15). Comment on Plakobranchus ocellatus in aquaria by Tom Wyatt. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/8912

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Plakobranchus ocellatus

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