title: Phyllodesmium longicirrum
text: # Phyllodesmium longicirrum
  
  Phyllodesmium longicirrum, common name the solar-powered phyllodesmium, is a species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Facelinidae.
  
  ## Distribution
  
  The distribution of Phyllodesmium longicirrum includes Australia and Indonesia.
  
  ## Description
  
  This is a very large species, growing to at least 140 mm. Phyllodesmium longicirrum contains photosynthetic zooxanthellae, which allow it to draw energy from sunlight, hence its common name, the solar-powered phyllodesmium. This is actually a misleading name, as several other species of Phyllodesmium are also capable of photosynthesis, although this is developed to the greatest extreme in this species.
  
  ## Ecology
  
  Phyllodesmium longicirrum feeds on soft coral Sarcophyton trocheliophorum (family Alcyoniidae).
  
  