Phyllodesmium crypticum

Phyllodesmium crypticum is a species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Facelinidae.^[2]

Phyllodesmium crypticum
Phyllodesmium crypticum from Bitung, North Sulawesi, head end towards the right
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Order:	Nudibranchia
Suborder:	Cladobranchia
Family:	Myrrhinidae
Genus:	Phyllodesmium
Species:	P. crypticum
Binomial name
Phyllodesmium crypticum Rudman, 1981[1]
Synonyms[2]
Phyllodesmium cryptica

Distribution

This species was described from Angourie, northern New South Wales, Australia. It has been reported from Indonesia and the Red Sea.^[3]

Description

Phyllodesmium crypticum uses camouflage and looks like the soft coral Xenia amongst which it is normally found. The length of the slug is 45–60 mm. This species contains zooxanthellae and has cerata which have a most distinctive shape. They are dorso-ventrally flattened and quadrangular in cross-section. A row of nodules runs up each of the four edges of the ceras and there are also scattered nodules on the two flat sides.^[1]

Ecology

Phyllodesmium crypticum feeds on Xenia.^[3]