Placida dendritica

Placida dendritica is a species of minute sea slug, a marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusk or micromollusk in the family Limapontiidae.[1]

Placida dendritica
A live individual of Placida dendritic a in situ, head end towards the left
illustration in A monograph of the British nudibranchiate Mollusca
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Mollusca
Class:
Gastropoda
(unranked):
clade Heterobranchia
informal group Opisthobranchia
clade Sacoglossa
clade Plakobranchacea
Superfamily:
Limapontioidea
Family:
Limapontiidae
Genus:
Placida
Species:
P. dendritica
Binomial name
Placida dendritica
(Alder, J. & A. Hancock, 1843)
Synonyms[1]
  • Placida aoteana (Powell, 1937)
  • Hermaea dendritica Alder & Hancock, 1843

Despite a superficial resemblance, this is not a nudibranch, it is a sacoglossan (i.e. it is in the order Sacoglossa).

Like most sacoglossans, Placida dendritica feeds on coenocytic green algae. It is able to retain the chloroplasts for a short period, however the ingested plastids are not functional, and do not provide nutritional benefit to the animal.[2]

Distribution

This species has been reported worldwide, but it is most likely a species complex.[3]

References
  1. WoRMS : Placida dendritica accessed : 13 October 2010]
    • Goodnight, S. (2012). Field and Laboratory Observations of Two Gulf of Maine Sacoglossans. University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH.
  3. http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/2149
  • Powell A. W. B., New Zealand Mollusca, William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 ISBN 0-00-216906-1
  • de Kluijver, M.J.; Ingalsuo, S.S.; de Bruyne, R.H. (2000). Macrobenthos of the North Sea [CD-ROM]: 1. Keys to Mollusca and Brachiopoda. World Biodiversity Database CD-ROM Series. Expert Center for Taxonomic Identification (ETI): Amsterdam, The Netherlands. ISBN 3-540-14706-3
  • Bleakney, J.S. 1996. Sea slugs of Atlantic Canada and the Gulf of Maine. The Nova Scotia Museum Field Guide Series. Nimbus Publishing. Halifax. 216 p.
  • Gofas, S.; Le Renard, J.; Bouchet, P. (2001). Mollusca, in: Costello, M.J. et al. (Ed.) (2001). European register of marine species: a check-list of the marine species in Europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification. Collection Patrimoines Naturels, 50: pp. 180–213
  • Willan, R. (2009). Opisthobranchia (Mollusca). In: Gordon, D. (Ed.) (2009). New Zealand Inventory of Biodiversity. Volume One: Kingdom Animalia. 584 pp


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