Leaf Sheep, Costasiella kuroshimae
The Leaf Sheep Sea Slug. The infamous solar powered sea slug. Shaun the Sheep. . Yes this is the same species that has made sea slugs all over the world famously loveable and cute. In Hawaii, it doesn’t seem to get the bright pink tips and luscious green cerata of those found in Indonesia and the Philippines but it is still a gorgeous animal — albeit extremely tiny and hard to find — especially by snorkelers! There’s a good chance that the Hawaii animals will be proven to be their own species, but for now they are lumped in with those originally found in Kuroshima, Japan. These little ones were found on a piece of mud leaf or Avrainvillea amadelpha in less than 3 metres of water. As a snorkeller, I never imagined finding one, let alone several grazing and laying eggs in the company of Costasiella Sp. #1. These little ones were no more than 5 mm and when first found were covered in sand and silt as was their host algae. I can never do as good a job at providing detailed descriptions and taxonomic history as that which is found on the Sea Slug of Hawaii site so please allow the experts to fill you in further.