Diamond-Mask Sap-Sucker

Costasiella kuroshimae

• Group: Other
• For divers: safe

This tiny sap sucking sea slug feeds on a single kind of green alga, Avrainvillea, that grows in sandy gaps between coral. It pierces the algal cells and keeps the stolen chloroplasts working inside its own body, so its frilly back stays bright green long after the meal.

Taxonomy: Animalia › Mollusca › Gastropoda › Costasiellidae › Costasiella

Species data via the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS), AphiaID 494655.