Phyllodesmium serratum

Phyllodesmium serratum is a species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Facelinidae.^[1]

Phyllodesmium serratum
Phyllodesmium serratum, Izu, Japan
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Order:	Nudibranchia
Suborder:	Cladobranchia
Family:	Myrrhinidae
Genus:	Phyllodesmium
Species:	P. serratum
Binomial name
Phyllodesmium serratum (Baba, 1949)
Synonyms[1]
Hervia serrata Baba, 1949 Cratena serrata Babaiella serrata Phyllodesmium serrata

Distribution

The distribution of Phyllodesmium serratum includes Australia and Japan.^[2] It has been erroneously synonymised with Phyllodesmium horridum by some authors but does not occur in Africa.

Description

The length of the slug is usually 10–25 mm, but its length can reach up to 40 mm.^[3]

This species contains no zooxanthellae.

Ecology

Phyllodesmium serratum feeds on the soft corals Cornularia sp., Clavularia sp., Carijoa sp. and Steronephthya sp.^[2]