Lettuce slug

Elysia ornata

Molluscs
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth1–12 m
Water temperature19–30 °C
Best monthsAugust, September, and November
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: (c) Steve Childs, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

Elysia ornata, commonly known as ornate elysia or ornate leaf slug, is a species of sea slug, a marine gastropod mollusk. This sea slug superficially resembles a nudibranch, yet it does not belong to that suborder of gastropods. Instead it is a member of the closely related clade Sacoglossa, the "sap-sucking" sea slugs.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Elysia ornata”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

Loading the map

Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 39 records
February: 38 records
March: 43 records
April: 46 records
May: 32 records
June: 37 records
July: 34 records
August: 55 records
September: 57 records
October: 33 records
November: 54 records
December: 51 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 1–12 m · Deepest record: 27.5 m

0–10 m: 28 records
10–20 m: 7 records
20–30 m: 1 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 19–30 °C

18–20 °C: 2 records
20–22 °C: 0 records
22–24 °C: 5 records
24–26 °C: 20 records
26–28 °C: 20 records
28–30 °C: 154 records

Photos

(c) Dan Schofield, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Dan Schofield, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) shahar chaikin, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Jorge I. Merchán Mayorga, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
(c) Pauline Walsh Jacobson, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) shahar chaikin, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Lettuce slug, lettuce slug, Ornate Elysia, Ornate sap-sucking slug

Names in 4 more languages

Spanish: Danzarina adornada
French: Elysie ornée
Japanese: コノハミドリガイ
Simplified Chinese: 華麗海天牛

Other scientific names: Thallepus ornatus

Similar species

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
465 open-data records from 1840 to 2023.
Species data updated October 26, 2026.

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