Phestilla sp. is a coral eating species of sea slugs that live on corals from the genus Porites. They live in tropical tropical marine coral reefs of the Indian and western Pacific Oceans. They are hemaphrodites and lay fertilized egg masses every day on the coral they eat. Embryos shown below are from an Phestilla sibogae a species found in Hawaii.
Embryos shown below as confocal images have been raised at room temperature in the laboratory. Phalloidin staining is in white to label actin microfilaments (cell membrane and muscle fibers). Hoechst staining is in blue to label the DNA (cell nucleus). In images showing embryo on a lateral view, animal pole is on the top. The star indicates the position of the mouth.
Added by: Aldine Amiel.
