The leaf sheep, AKA leaf slug, is a nudibranch native to Japan - discovered in 1993 - and can now be found in various parts of Asia. This sea slug is surprisingly small and ranges from 5 to 10mm in size.
What makes these slugs so amazing is that they are animals that can photosynthesise! They eat algae and recycle the chloroplasts to produce their own nutrients. This is a process named kleptoplasty. The chloroplasts are stored in the green leaf-like structures called cerata. Eventually, the chloroplasts die and since the leaf sheep can't synthesise the proteins to form some for itself, it must eat more algae if it wants to replace them.
What looks like the long ears of the sheep are actually rhinophores that contain taste and scent receptors. This is how the slug detects algae sources.
REFERENCES
https://algaeplanet.com/meet-the-leaf-sheep/
Algae Planet: Meet the leaf sheep
2023
https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20210324-the-odd-sea-creature-powered-by-the-sun
BBC: The sheep that can photosynthesise
Rina Diane Caballar
2021
Date published: 14th January 2024
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