Page 71 - Caribbean Reef Life Demo

LETTUCE SEA SLUG
(Elysia crispata) < 10 cm / 4 in
lesh con oluted ara odia resem le lea es of lettuce. Large pale blotches on the side. Curling rhinophores.
Lettuce Sea Slugs are highly variable in color, depending on which algae they have been feeding on.
The Lettuce Sea Slug has developed a uni ue way of feeding itself called kleptoplasty: stealing photosynthetic material from plants. It actually keeps the chloroplasts alive and stored in the ruf es on its back. These are the plant cells that use sunlight to produce sugars by photosynthesis. They continue to work inside the animal’s esh for up to a month, but now they are feeding an animal instead of a plant. As an added bonus, the colors of the chloroplasts help the Lettuce Sea Slug to remain camou aged on its food source. The color will change depending on what type of plant the animal is living and feeding on. With its ruf ed back always exposed to the sunlight, the Lettuce Sea Slug acts like a small solar-powered battery moving about on the reef oor.
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