Plakobranchus ocellatus (van Hasselt, 1824)

Plakobranchus ocellatus is a common inhabitant of shallow coral reef pools and lagoons. It is seldom seen as it is well-camouflaged, half buried in the coral sand. P. ocellatus lives in sheltered, shallow water habitats with stones or gravel and silt. Maximum length is 6-7 cm in Persian Gulf (Iran, Kish Island). It may seem puzzling that this slug has evolved a method of storing chloroplasts, but at the same time shades them from the sunlight which would allow them to photosynthesis and provide nourishment for the slug. It is a theory, which is totally untested, that P. ocellatus deliberately shades the chloroplasts from the bright tropical sun. Most chloroplasts have an optimal light intensity at which they photosynthesis. They can be "burnt out" if exposed to too much light. By covering the chloroplasts with the parapodia, P. ocellatus rather than cutting the chloroplasts off from light, is just reducing the light levels to a better level for photosynthesis. Active crawling and mating are often crepuscular with the animals spending much of the time both by day and night resting passively on the bottom with a fine layer of sand covering their bodies.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Ketabi, Ramin, Jamili, Shahla
Format:	other biblioteca
Language:	English
Published:	Kish International Campus, Tehran University 2016-12
Subjects:	Biology, Ecology, Plakobranchus ocellatus,
Online Access:	http://hdl.handle.net/1834/35957
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!