The leaf sheep (Costasiella kuroshimae). – Alif Abdul Rahman (www.flickr.com/photos/alif_abdulrahman/19080120525) CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=41894580
IN THE coral-rich waters off Japan, scientists have discovered a tiny creature that looks more like a cartoon character than an actual animal.
Is it true that this creature can feed on the sun's rays, just like plants do?
Verdict:
TRUE
The leaf sheep (Costasiella kuroshimae) is a remarkable (and adorable) sea slug that steals chloroplasts from the algae it eats and stores them in its own cells, a biological phenomenon known as kleptoplasty.
This allows it to photosynthesise, producing energy from sunlight – just like a plant.
Its green colouring comes directly from the stolen chloroplasts and as long as it has access to sunlight, it can brings its own food source along anywhere it goes.
The mollusc was first spotted by scientists in the early 1990s on the island of Kuroshima in Japan, where its name "kuroshimae" comes from.
Sources:
1. World Wildlife Fund — Costasiella: The Photosynthesizing Sea Slug
2. BBC Science Focus — Nature's cutest maniac: Why this (very adorable) sea slug eats sunlight for breakfast
3. EarthSky — The adorable leaf sheep sea slug: Lifeform of the week
https://earthsky.org/earth/lifeform-of-the-week-leaf-sheep-sea-slug/
