Recent studies revealed that reef corals can eat large-sized pelagic and benthic animals in addition to small planktonic prey. As follow-up, we document natural ingestion of sea slugs by corals and investigate the role of sacoglossan sea slugs as possible prey items of scleractinian corals. Feeding trials were carried out using six sacoglossan species as prey, two each from the genera Costasiella, Elysia and Plakobranchus, and four free-living solitary corals (Danafungia scruposa, Fungia fungites, Pleuractis paumotensis and Heteropsammia cochlea) as predators. Trials were carried out under both in-situ and ex-situ conditions with the aim to observe ingestion and assess signs of prey consumption based on tissue loss of prey individuals over time. Significant differences were observed in both ingestion time and consumption state of prey between prey species, with three of them being ingested more rapidly and preferentially consumed over the others. Additionally, prey size was found to be a significant factor with larger prey (>12 mm) being ingested more slowly and rarely than smaller ones (<6 mm and 6–12 mm). Comparisons of consumption capability among predators showed no significant difference with all coral species showing similar preferences for prey species. While no specific mechanism of prey capture is proposed, we also document instances of kleptoparisitism and resuspension of prey items by wrasses. This study highlights the important distinction between opportunistic prey capture and true predation events.

Research in recent years have provided rapid advances in biogeographic and taxonomic documentation of sea slugs around the world. However, efforts are lacking in surveying most coastlines and habitats in South-East Asia. Recent studies from the Gulf of Thailand have indicated that a wealth of unexplored sea slug diversity and ecology may be gained from an investigation of soft sediment habitats beyond the reef slopes. Additionally, the waters of Koh Tao have been found to host regionally high levels of sea slug diversity with several species awaiting taxonomic clarification. In this work the initial findings of an expanded survey effort from the waters around Koh Tao are provided, with the identity of two soft sediment-associated sacoglossan species in the family Plakobranchidae being investigated. By integrating morphological and molecular analyses, the species Plakobranchus noctisstellatussp. nov. and Elysia aowthaisp. nov. are described and species complexes surrounding Plakobranchus ocellatus van Hasselt, 1824 and Elysia japonica Eliot, 1913 are discussed. The topics of morphological variability and the cryptic species problem are also discussed.

Predation on a sacoglossan gastropod by a mushroom coral Only a few documented examples are known of predation on sacoglossans, which are heterobranch sea slugs famous for ingesting the cellular contents of algae (Krug et al. 2013). Known predators of sacoglossans include, for example, species of fish and crabs (Trowbridge 1994). Information on scleractinian corals eating large-sized prey became only recently available (Hoeksema and Waheed 2012); therefore, it is not surprising that no examples have been reported on sea slugs being eaten by corals. During a field survey on a fringing reef off Sai Tong beach (10°03¢41 †N, 99°49¢30 †E) on December 22, 2014, at the island Koh Tao (Gulf of Thailand), a sacoglossan gastropod, Plakobranchus sp., was found being consumed by a monostomatous mushroom coral, Pleuractis paumotensis (Stutchbury, 1833) for 20 min (1320-1340 hrs). The coral was part of a mushroom coral assemblage on a sandy substrate (9 m depth) that is rarely visited by divers. The sea slug (~22 mm long) was already inside the coral's mouth when it was discovered (Fig. 1). It is not known whether the individual was later expelled or consumption was completed but <10 mm of its length remained by the end of observation with no signs of rejection. The present specimen belongs to the P. ocellatus species complex, which is in need of further revision (Krug et al. 2013). Around Koh Tao, Plakobranchus slugs are commonly found year-round on shallow sandy substrates (0-20 m depth) where they are optimally exposed to sunlight. The unlucky individual had probably crawled against the coral's periphery, from where it was transported toward the mouth by the coral's tentacles (see Hoeksema and Waheed 2012). Incidental observations like this one can clarify the role of corals as predators, and which prey they can consume.

Morphological and molecular data are presented for the first time in an integrative way for the genus Myja Bergh, 1896. In accordance with the new molecular phylogenies, the traditional Facelinidae is paraphyletic. Herein is presented the phylogenetic placement of true Facelinidae s. str., including the first molecular data for F.auriculata (Müller, 1776), type species of the genus Facelina Alder & Hancock, 1855. The taxonomic history of F.auriculata is reviewed. The genus Myja is related to the clade Facelinidae s. str., but shows disparate morphological traits. Two new species of the genus Myja, M.karinsp. n., and M.hyotansp. n., are described from the Pacific waters of Japan (middle Honshu), and M.cf.longicornis Bergh, 1896 is investigated from Thailand. According to molecular analysis and review of available morphological information, the genus Myja contains more hidden diversity. The family-level relationship within aeolidacean nudibranchs with emphasis on the family Facelinidae is outlined. The problem of the relationship between Facelinidae Bergh, 1889 and Glaucidae Gray, 1827 is discussed. The family Glaucidae has precedence over Facelinidae and is phylogenetically related to the core group of Facelinidae s. str., but has a profoundly modified aberrant external morphology, thus making a purely molecular-based approach to the taxonomy an unsatisfactory solution. To accommodate recently discovered hidden diversity within glaucids, the genus Glaucilla Bergh, 1861 is restored. The family Facelinidae s. str. is separate from, and not closely related to, a clade containing the genera Dondice Marcus, 1958, Godiva MacNae 1954, Hermissenda Bergh, 1879, and Phyllodesmium Ehrenberg, 1831 (= Myrrhine Bergh, 1905). The oldest valid available name for the separate ex-facelinid paraphyletic clade that contains several facelinid genera is Myrrhinidae Bergh, 1905, and resurrection of this family name under provision of the ICZN article 40.1 can preliminarily solve the problem of paraphyly of the traditional Facelinidae. “Facelinidae” s. l. needs to be further divided into several separate families, pending further study.