Placida dendritica | |
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A live individual in situ, head end towards the left | |
illustration in A monograph of the British nudibranchiate Mollusca | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Mollusca |
Class: | Gastropoda |
Subclass: | Heterobranchia |
Family: | Limapontiidae |
Genus: | Placida |
Species: | P. dendritica
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Binomial name | |
Placida dendritica (Alder, J. & A. Hancock, 1843)
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Synonyms[1] | |
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Placida dendritica is a species of minute sea slug, a marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusk or micromollusk in the family Limapontiidae.[1]
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.[2]
This species has been reported worldwide, but it is most likely a species complex.[3]