Emerald elysia
Elysia chlorotica A. A. Gould, 1870
Status not recordedsnails and slugs
The emerald elysia (Elysia chlorotica) is a mollusc in the snails and slugs group, belonging to the family Plakobranchidae and the superfamily Plakobranchoidea. It is classified in the phylum Mollusca and the class Gastropoda, and was named by A. A. Gould, 1870.
Quick facts about the emerald elysia
Its main food is vaucheria litorea. Other English names for this species include Elysia chloroticelus, Emerald green sea slug and Eastern emerald elysia.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Main food
- vaucheria litoreasrc for Main food
- Habitat
- marinesrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Conservation status
- Not recorded
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the emerald elysia
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the emerald elysia live?
Not recorded
What is the emerald elysia?
Elysia chlorotica (common name the eastern emerald elysia) is a small-to-medium-sized species of green sea slug, a marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusc. This sea slug superficially resembles a nudibranch, yet it does not belong to that clade. Instead it is a member of the clade Sacoglossa, the sap-sucking sea slugs. Some members of this group use chloroplasts from the algae they eat for photosynthesis, a phenomenon known as kleptoplasty. Elysia chlorotica is one species of such "solar-powered sea slugs". It lives in a subcellular endosymbiotic relationship with chloroplasts of the marine heterokont alga Vaucheria litorea.
From the Wikipedia article “Elysia chlorotica” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Elysia_chlorotica&oldid=1384773664), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the emerald elysia endangered?
No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.
How is the emerald elysia classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumMollusca
- classGastropoda
- familyPlakobranchidae
- genusElysia
- SpeciesElysia chlorotica A. A. Gould, 1870
Other names and names in other languages (6)
- Eastern emerald elysiaEnglish
- Elysia chloroticelusEnglish
- Emerald green sea slugEnglish
- Smaragd-SamtschneckeGerman
- Babosa esmeraldaSpanish
- Nudibranche vert du Nord-EstFrench
Relatives of the emerald elysia
Other species in the same genus Elysia.
Lettuce slug
Elysia crispata
Green elysia
Elysia viridis
Tri-banded Taco slug
Elysia marginata
Lettuce slug
Elysia ornata
Horned Sapsucker
Elysia cornigera
Ruffled elysia
Elysia subornata
CompareEmerald elysia vs Lettuce slugEmerald elysia vs Green elysiaEmerald elysia vs Tri-banded Taco slugEmerald elysia vs Lettuce slug
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the emerald elysia?
The emerald elysia is a mollusc in the snails and slugs group. It belongs to the class Gastropoda and the family Plakobranchidae.
What does the emerald elysia eat?
Its main food is vaucheria litorea.
What is the scientific name of the emerald elysia?
The scientific name of the emerald elysia is Elysia chlorotica, in the genus Elysia.
Who named Elysia chlorotica and when?
Elysia chlorotica was named by A. A. Gould, 1870.
What other names does the emerald elysia have?
It is also called Elysia chloroticelus, Emerald green sea slug and Eastern emerald elysia.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Emerald elysia (Elysia chlorotica). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/emerald-elysia
“Emerald elysia (Elysia chlorotica).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/emerald-elysia.
@misc{emerald_elysia_2026,
title = {Emerald elysia (Elysia chlorotica)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/emerald-elysia},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}