Welcome to the world of Nudibranchs. These beautiful marine molluscs look like they could be from a different universe, but you can find them living in oceans across the globe. With over 3000 extant species, there are still many to be discovered (Valdes et al. 2013). The name Nudibranchia originates from “naked gills”, named after the feathery gills on their back (Faulkner & Ghiselin 1983). Commonly known as sea slugs, Nudibranchs are broken into two types: dorid and aeolid. They range in length from a few millimetres up to a foot, have a short lifespan of around a year (National Geographic n.d.), and can be found in a variety of colors, patterns, and shapes. Some, have appendages called cerata that project from their back and head. Nudibranchs are carnivores that feed on sponges, coral, algae, and even other sea slugs. Some also posses the ability to harvest energy by eating photosynthetic organisms that contain zooxanthellae, making them “solar powered”, helping sustain them during times of food shortage (Burghardt et al. 2008; Wagele & Johnsen 2001).
Nembrotha cristata is a species of colourful sea slug, a polycerid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Polyceridae.[2] This species of sea slug is black with green markings; adults are around 50 mm in length, and they live on rock or coral reefs in the tropical Indo-West Pacific Ocean.
Nembrotha cristata is a large black nembrothine ("nembrothid" in much of the literature) that grows to at least 50 mm in length. Its body is covered with raised green nodules. The rhinophores and gills are black, edged in green. Other than the difference in colour, this species is similar in appearance to Nembrotha yonowae.[3]
This nudibranch species was described from the Philippines. It occurs in the tropical Indo-West Pacific Ocean.[4] It lives at depths between three and twenty metres. These sea slugs live on coral or rock reefs, and have a lifespan of up to a year.[4]
The bright colours of this nudibranch species are an aposematic warning to predators. These sea slugs eat compound tunicates. Like all opisthobranchs, they are hermaphrodites.[4]
Nembrotha cristata is a species of colourful sea slug, a polycerid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Polyceridae. This species of sea slug is black with green markings; adults are around 50 mm in length, and they live on rock or coral reefs in the tropical Indo-West Pacific Ocean.
