Diving in Bali. Interesting facts: Leaf Sheep
You’ll meet many incredible creatures when exploring the underwater world in Bali. And now I would like to tell you about an amazing little marine gastropod mollusk with beady eyes – Costasiella kuroshimae; in English it has been nicknamed a Leaf Sheep.
The tiny leaf sheep grows up to one centimeter; it even grazes like a real sheep and feeds on the green algae, Avrainvillea. This mollusk lays chloroplasts in papillae, which serve as «a battery cell» and make it a solar-powered slug; that is why the outgrowths on the mollusk’s body are green. In the absence of chloroplasts, the papillae of the mollusk are whitish gray, but in general the individual coloration of the mollusk is very diverse.
This species is named after the Island of Kuroshima (Japan), where it was found for the first time. However, very little is known about its distribution, but the good news is that in Bali you can meet this tiny leaf sheep on two dive sites. So if you are already armed with a macro lens to capture some great images of this very attractive leaf sheep – welcome to diving in Bali. I know the secret glades!
The tiny leaf sheep grows up to one centimeter; it even grazes like a real sheep and feeds on the green algae, Avrainvillea. This mollusk lays chloroplasts in papillae, which serve as «a battery cell» and make it a solar-powered slug; that is why the outgrowths on the mollusk’s body are green. In the absence of chloroplasts, the papillae of the mollusk are whitish gray, but in general the individual coloration of the mollusk is very diverse.
This species is named after the Island of Kuroshima (Japan), where it was found for the first time. However, very little is known about its distribution, but the good news is that in Bali you can meet this tiny leaf sheep on two dive sites. So if you are already armed with a macro lens to capture some great images of this very attractive leaf sheep – welcome to diving in Bali. I know the secret glades!
