Ornate Sap-sucking Slug

Elysia ornata is a species of sea slug, a marine gastropod mollusk. This sea slug superficially resembles a nudibranch, yet it does not belong to that suborder of gastropods. Instead it is a member of the closely related clade Sacoglossa, the "sap-sucking" sea slugs.

Description

Elysia ornata can grow to about 5 centimetres (2.0 in) in length. It is a translucent greenish-yellow colour speckled with white and black. It has broad parapodia each edged with an orange band and a black margin. Sometimes there is a white line between the orange and yellow bands. The rhinophores are similarly coloured with a band of orange and dark tips.

A very similarly coloured species, from the Indo-West Pacific, Elysia grandifolia, has much larger, very thin parapodia.

Distribution

Elysia ornata is a tropical species found in both the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.

Habitat

It occurs in large aggregations during the day. It feeds on algae Codium.