Question

Are any animals photosynthetic?

Answer 1

Animals:

1. The kingdom Animalia comprises eukaryotic, multicellular organisms.
2. Photosynthetic organisms (autotrophs) possess chlorophyll pigment that helps them to synthesize their own food from inorganic substances such as CO₂, H₂O, and mineral in presence of sunlight.
3. Animals are heterotrophs. They depend on living organisms to obtain nutrition.
4. The green sea slug (Elysia chlorotica) is a photosynthetic animal belonging to the phylum Mollusca. They acquire chlorophyll by ingesting yellow-green algae (Vaucheria litorea), this process is known as ‘Kleptoplasty’.