''Phyllodesmium colemani'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

sea slug Sea slug is a common name for some marine invertebrates with varying levels of resemblance to terrestrial slugs. Most creatures known as sea slugs are gastropods, i.e. they are sea snails (marine gastropod mollusks) that over evolutionary ...

, an aeolid

nudibranch Nudibranchs () are a group of soft-bodied marine gastropod molluscs which shed their shells after their larval stage. They are noted for their often extraordinary colours and striking forms, and they have been given colourful nicknames to mat ...

, a

marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

gastropod mollusc in the family

Facelinidae The Facelinidae are a taxonomic family of colorful sea slugs. These are specifically aeolid nudibranchs. They are marine gastropod molluscs.Bouchet, P. (2012). Facelinidae. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinesp ...

.Bouchet, P. (2015)
''Phyllodesmium colemani''.
In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2015-10-06

Distribution

This species was described from

Lord Howe Island Lord Howe Island (; formerly Lord Howe's Island) is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, part of the Australian state of New South Wales. It lies directly east of mainland ...

, Australia where it was discovered by

Neville Coleman Neville Coleman OAM (1938 - 4 May 2012) was an Australian naturalist, underwater nature photographer, writer, publisher and educator. Coleman started scuba diving in 1963, exploring Sydney Harbour. Later he joined a scientific study group an ...

. It is also known from the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

and the area of the central Indo-Pacific Ocean.Rudman, W.B., 2003 (December 21
''Phyllodesmium colemani'' Rudman, 1991.
n/nowiki> Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.

Description

''Phyllodesmium colemani'' uses

camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...

and hides amongst the polyps of ''

Tubipora musica The organ pipe coral (''Tubipora musica'') is an alcyonarian octocoral native to the waters of the Indian Ocean and the central and western regions of the Pacific Ocean. It is the only known species of the genus ''Tubipora''. This species is a so ...

'' on which it feeds. The length of the slug is 18 mm. This species contains

zooxanthellae Zooxanthellae is a colloquial term for single-celled dinoflagellates that are able to live in symbiosis with diverse marine invertebrates including demosponges, corals, jellyfish, and nudibranchs. Most known zooxanthellae are in the genus '' ...

which are stored in aggregations of terminal chambers all over the ceratal wall.

Ecology

''Phyllodesmium colemani'' feeds on Organ pipe coral ''

'' usually in very shallow water, typically 2–5 m depth.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3381929 Facelinidae Gastropods described in 1991