The leaf sheep or sea sheep (scientific name: Costasiella kuroshimae) is a type of sea slug, a shell-less mollusk. Leaf sheep munch on algae and live in warm waters off Japan, the Philippines, and Indonesia.
This animal may look like an adorable green sheep in a pasture, but it is so tiny it could actually fit on your fingertip!
Fun facts about leaf sheep
Image by Christian Gloor, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0).
Why so woolly?
Leaf sheep are not really woolly. The rows of leaf-like bumps on their bodies are called cerata.
Image by Ania Kossowska, via iNaturalist (CC BY-NC).
Why so green?
Leaf sheep do something amazing, called kleptoplasty. They take up chloroplasts from the algae they eat. This allows them to do photosynthesis — convert sunlight to energy — and, it is what gives them that lovely green glow.
Image by Ania Kossowska, via iNaturalist (CC BY-NC).
Ears and eyes?
The two small black dots are the leaf sheep’s eyes. But those cute lamb-like “ears” are actually rhinophores. Rhinophores are antenna-like appendages that help leaf sheep sense their environment.
Image by Robin White, via iNaturalist (CC BY 4.0).
Egg spiral!
Sometimes, leaf sheep lay their eggs in a spiral pattern. Can you find the leaf sheep and the egg spiral in the photograph on the left?
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