slug – סלומה

Aplysia vaccaria, also known as the black sea hare and California black sea hare, is a species of extremely large sea slug, a marine, opisthobranch, gastropod mollusk in the family Aplysiidae.

Solar powered sea slugs shed light on search for perpetual green energy

In an amazing achievement akin to adding solar panels to your body, a
Northeast sea slug sucks raw materials from algae to provide its
lifetime supply of solar-powered energy, according to a study by Rutgers
University-New Brunswick and other scientists.

“It’s a remarkable feat because it’s highly unusual for
an animal to behave like a plant and survive solely on photosynthesis,”
said Debashish Bhattacharya, senior author of the study and
distinguished professor in the Department of Biochemistry and
Microbiology at Rutgers-New Brunswick. “The broader implication is in
the field of artificial photosynthesis. That is, if we can figure out
how the slug maintains stolen, isolated plastids to fix carbon
without the plant nucleus, then maybe we can also harness isolated
plastids for eternity as green machines to create bioproducts or energy.
The existing paradigm is that to make green energy, we need the plant
or alga to run the photosynthetic organelle, but the slug shows us that
this does not have to be the case.”

The sea slug, Elysia chlorotica, steals millions of green-colored
plastids, which are like tiny solar panels, from algae.Credit: Karen N.
Pelletreau/University of Maine

Cheong Xin Chan, Pavel Vaysberg, Dana C Price, Karen N Pelletreau,
Mary E Rumpho, Debashish Bhattacharya. Active Host Response to Algal
Symbionts in the Sea Slug Elysia chlorotica. Molecular Biology and
Evolution, 2018; DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msy061

The Elysia chlorotica, more commonly known as the Eastern Emerald
Elysia, is a species of green sea slug that is found along the east
coast of the United States. The juvenile sea slugs feed on intertidal
algae but instead of digesting the entire cell contents, it retains only
the algal chloroplasts by storing them in their extensive digestive
system. Over time, these chloroplasts are incorporated into the slug’s
cells and the slug is able to undergo photosynthesis as a means of
obtaining energy.

The forest slug (Arion ater) eating the red fly agaric (Amanita muscaria).

Jorunna parva, a Japanese sea slug that looks like a fluffy bunny! Isn’t he cute?

If you’ve ever wondered what would happen
if you crossed a slug with a leaf, friends, we have your answer right
here. This strange creature that appears to be part leaf, part slug and
part tongue is a Leaf-vein slug (Athoracophorus bitentaculatus),
a species of land slug native to New Zealand. They’re nocturnal and
thought to feed primarily on algae and fungi found on the surface of
plants, which means they don’t damage plants like plenty of other slug
species do.

This particular specimen was photographed by Redditor Aaronlolwtf while they were out trimming some flax last year. To view more examples of this fascinating little creature, click here. (via Reddit)

The eastern emerald elysia (Elysia chlorotica) is a sea slug that steals and absorbs chloroplasts from the algae it eats, a behavior called kleptoplasty. (Photograph by Patrick J. Krug) Source.