OHHH NO, OHHHHOHOH NO i cant BELIEVE this is a real animal and not a cartoon character from some pixar short
its real name is the costasiella kuroshimae, and theyre actually not nudibranches, but closely related sacoglossan sea slugs that feed on algea .… .. .. . . like … .. sheep
they were discovered off the coast of the yaeyama islands in japan, and theres not actually a lot known about em - a few members of the sacoglossa branch have the ability to steal chloroplasts from algea the eat and add it to their own bodies in a Really Unusual process called kleptoplasty, which might account for their vivid green color ?
either way theyre only 4.5 mm long and all they want to do is move super slowly and eat. a true hero among us
OH THESE GUYS ARE REALLY COOL! They have a semi-symbiotic relationship with a virus, believe it or not, and it’s the virus which lets them take on the chloroplasts. There’s a 100% infection rate through the species.
The wildest part is that, after they’ve bred the first time, the virus is like ‘cool, job done’ and goes back to being lethal. These guys never die of old age.
