Nudibranch or Flatworm from Hawaii

March 11, 2003
From: Pauline Jacobson


I photographed this nudibranch or flatworm in Maui, Hawaii at the Turtle Town dive site in Waialea, November, 2001 at approx 20 ft. on a sandy bottom.

Can you please identify it? I have not been able to find any photos that are similar. There were many of them, they appeared to have gathered in large numbers to mate.
Pauline Jacobson

pauline@cdislands.com

Jacobson, P., 2003 (Mar 11) Nudibranch or Flatworm from Hawaii. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/9295

Dear Pauline,
Your mystery animal is the sacoglossan sea slug Plakobranchus ocellatus. They are often found in quite dense populations but I don't know if they aggregate to mate. The sacoglossans feed by sucking the cell sap out of algae. Some, such as Plakobranchus ocellatus, keep the chloroplasts from the algae alive in their own bodies, where they continue to photosynthesise - converting the sun's energy into sugars. Have a look at the Solar-powered Sea Slug page for more information on this remarkable symbiosis.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2003 (Mar 11). Comment on Nudibranch or Flatworm from Hawaii by Pauline Jacobson. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/9295

Factsheet

Plakobranchus ocellatus

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