Costasiella is a genus of sacoglossan sea slugs, a shell-less marine opisthobranchid gastropod mollusk in the family Costasiellidae.Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S. (2015). Costasiella Pruvot-Fol, 1951. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=137845 on 2015-01-17 The Costasiella is defined by some specific characteristics such as smooth rhinophores which are usually simple with dull tips and flattened at their base. Other features include rounded, tentacular anterior foot corners that exhibit their spatulate shape to enhance mobility and blade-shaped radular teeth with substantially short bases. Most of the genus could be found within the tropical and subtropical regions of the Western Pacific oceans. Their preferred habitats include areas of soft, muddy sediments around intertidal zones. Their diets vary from species to species but generally consume various types of green algae, more commonly the Vaucheria and Avrainvillea.
The most recent diagnosis of the genus Costasiella is by the Dutch malacologist Cornelis Kees Swennen (2007).
Species There are 17 species in the genus CostasiellaSwennen C. (31 August 2007). "Costasiella coronata, new species, and a revised diagnosis for the Family Costasiellidae (Mollusca: Opisthobranchia: Sacoglossa)". Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 55(2) : 355-362. PDF Costasiella arenaria K. R. Jensen, Krug, Dupont & Nishina, 2014 Costasiella coronata Swennen, 2007 Costasiella formicaria (Baba, 1959) Costasiella fridae Fernández-Simón & Moles, 2023 Costasiella illa (Marcus, 1965) Costasiella iridophora Ichikawa, 1993 Costasiella kuroshimae Ichikawa, 1993 Costasiella mandorahae Jensen 1997 Costasiella nonatoi Marcus & Marcus, 1960 Costasiella ocellifera (Simroth, 1895) Costasiella pallida Jensen, 1985 Costasiella patricki Espinoza, DuPont & Valdés, 2014 Costasiella paweli Ichikawa, 1993 Costasiella rubrolineata Ichikawa, 1993 Costasiella usagi Ichikawa, 1993 Costasiella vegae Ichikawa, 1993 Costasiella virescens Pruvot-Fol, 1951 Species brought into synonymy Costasiella lilianae (Marcus & Marcus, 1969) - Clark (1984):Clark K. B. (1984). "New records and synonymies of Bermuda Opisthobranchs (Gastropoda)". The Nautilus 98: 85–97. synonym of Costasiella ocellifera (Simroth, 1895)
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