Costasiella coronata
Encyclopedia
Costasiella coronata is a species
of sacoglossa
n sea slug
, a shell-less marine
opisthobranch gastropod mollusk in the family Limapontiidae.
forest in Bang Tawa, southern Thailand
. The type specimen (holotype) is stored in the Zoological Reference Collection of the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, National University of Singapore
. The three paratypes are stored in the Zoological Museum, University of Amsterdam.
are flattened and this is the difference from other species in the genus. The renal shield is large and cover 2/3 of the body when the slug is fully extended. Rhinophores are smooth. Genital apertures are on the right side of the head. The male aperture and vaginal aperture are bellow the right rhinophore; the oviductal aperture is a bit below them.
slugs living in the intertidal zone
. They are found on mud or on Vaucheria
algae. They are found in higher density on Vaucheria when the algae is above the sea water level.
. The other species of Costasiella which is known to feed on Vaucheria is Costasiella palida.
hatches from eggs after 4 days. Then veliger then undergoes a metamorphosis
into a slug.
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of sacoglossa
Sacoglossa
Sacoglossa, commonly known as the sacoglossans or the "sap-sucking sea slugs", are a clade of small sea slugs and sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks that belong to the clade Heterobranchia...
n sea slug
Slug
Slug is a common name that is normally applied to any gastropod mollusc that lacks a shell, has a very reduced shell, or has a small internal shell...
, a shell-less marine
Marine (ocean)
Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology...
opisthobranch gastropod mollusk in the family Limapontiidae.
Distribution
The type locality for this species is mangroveMangrove
Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...
forest in Bang Tawa, southern Thailand
Southern Thailand
Southern Thailand is a distinct region of Thailand, connected with the Central region by the narrow Kra Isthmus.-Geography:Southern Thailand is located on the Malay Peninsula, with an area around 70,713 km², bounded to the north by Kra Isthmus as the narrowest part of the peninsula. The...
. The type specimen (holotype) is stored in the Zoological Reference Collection of the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, National University of Singapore
National University of Singapore
The National University of Singapore is Singapore's oldest university. It is the largest university in the country in terms of student enrollment and curriculum offered....
. The three paratypes are stored in the Zoological Museum, University of Amsterdam.
Description
Slugs are from yellowish brown to bright green in color, when they are well fed. There are also color (blue-green, white, yellowish, red-brown) dots on the skin. The body length is from 4 to 10.5 mm. Its cerataCerata
Cerata are anatomical structures found in nudibranch sea slugs, marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusks.They are dorsal and lateral outgrowths on the upper surfaces of the body....
are flattened and this is the difference from other species in the genus. The renal shield is large and cover 2/3 of the body when the slug is fully extended. Rhinophores are smooth. Genital apertures are on the right side of the head. The male aperture and vaginal aperture are bellow the right rhinophore; the oviductal aperture is a bit below them.
Habitat
These are amphibiousAmphibious
Amphibious means able to use either land or water. In particular it may refer to:*Amphibious warfare, warfare carried out on both land and water*Amphibians, vertebrate animals of the Class Amphibia...
slugs living in the intertidal zone
Intertidal zone
The intertidal zone is the area that is above water at low tide and under water at high tide . This area can include many different types of habitats, with many types of animals like starfish, sea urchins, and some species of coral...
. They are found on mud or on Vaucheria
Vaucheria
Vaucheria is a genus of Xanthophyceae or yellow-green algae. It is one of only two genera in the family Vaucheriaceae. The type species of the genus is Vaucheria disperma....
algae. They are found in higher density on Vaucheria when the algae is above the sea water level.
Feeding habits
This species feeds on VaucheriaVaucheria
Vaucheria is a genus of Xanthophyceae or yellow-green algae. It is one of only two genera in the family Vaucheriaceae. The type species of the genus is Vaucheria disperma....
. The other species of Costasiella which is known to feed on Vaucheria is Costasiella palida.
Life cycle
Costasiella coronata is a hermaphroditic species. Mating occurs in the water. Eggs are in egg capsules forming prolonged egg-strings in dimensions 9-15 mm × 1.7 mm containing from 2000 to 4000 eggs. A single egg has dimension about 61 μm. The free swimming veligerVeliger
A veliger is the planktonic larva of many kinds of marine and freshwater gastropod molluscs, as well as most bivalve mollusks.- Description :...
hatches from eggs after 4 days. Then veliger then undergoes a metamorphosis
Metamorphosis
Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops after birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation...
into a slug.