Yellow Costasiella

Isn't She Lovely 🌻⁠
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But is She a Thief? 🕵🏼‍♀️⁠
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The yellow costasiella sucks the sap from the Avrainvillea plant, partially digests it, and stores it inside its body. ⁠
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As it does not fully digests the sap, it uses the plastids of the cells to produce energy via photosynthesis, in a process that is called kleptoplasty. ⁠
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Derived from the Greek word for thief, “Kleptes,” it means this sea slug "steals" the plastids, which is an area in the cell where photosynthesis is conducted. ⁠
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Awesome video by @oceanvizion⁠
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