Phyllodesmium hyalinum is a species

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 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...

, an aolid nudibranch

Nudibranch

A nudibranch is a member of what is now a taxonomic clade, and what was previously a suborder, of soft-bodied, marine gastropod mollusks which shed their shell after their larval stage. They are noted for their often extraordinary colors and striking forms...

, a 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...

 gastropod mollusk in the family Facelinidae

Facelinidae

Facelinidae is a taxonomic family of colorful sea slugs. These are specifically aeolid nudibranchs. They are marine gastropod molluscs.- 2005 taxonomy :...

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Phyllodesmium hyalinum is the type species of the genus Phyllodesmium.

Distribution

The distribution of Phyllodesmium hyalinum includes Pacific, Red Sea, Tanzania, Australia, Japan, Philippines and Marshall islands

Marshall Islands

The Republic of the Marshall Islands , , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. As of July 2011 the population was 67,182...

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Description

The length of the slug is 14-45 mm. It is a pale pink-blue, mottled species, with loosely spaced cerata

Cerata

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....

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This species contains zooxanthellae.

Ecology

Habitat of Phyllodesmium hyalinum is diverse, among shallow coral reefs.

Phyllodesmium hyalinum feeds on Xenia

Xenia (genus)

Xenia is a genus of photosynthetic soft marine coral resembling a mushroom, with "arms" coming out from the top that end in many-fingered "hands". It is unique among corals because of its ability to use its "hands" to "pulse" or push water away from the colony in a constant, grabbing motion...

, Xenia umbellata, Heteroxenia fuscescens. This species is more frequently recorded as an incidental to research carried out on its prey species, the alcyonarian

Alcyonarian

The Alcyonarian corals are organisms resembling the octocorals . This individual polyps formed colonies and bore sclerites. The Burgess shale organism Margaretia dorus resembles an Alcyonarian, according to C.D. Walcott , and was reclassified as green algae closely resembling modern Caulerpa by...

s Xenia and Heteroxenia. It is camouflaged by the similarity of its cerata to the tentacles of these corals.