Scientific Name: Holothuroidea
Origin: Worldwide
Diet: Herbivore
Size: 0.6-30cm (0.25-12in)
Water Type: Salt
Optimum pH Level: 7.5-8.4
Life Span: 1-4 years
What is a nudibranch or sea slug?
Although the term “slugs” conjures up all kinds of unpleasant ideas, nudibranchs (pronounced “noo-dee-branks”), more commonly known as sea slugs, are renowned for their boundless variety and beauty. Nudibranchs are gastropod molluscs.
Sea slug video.
What does a sea slug look like?
Nudibranchs are shell-less molluscs, so imagine a colourful snail without a shell. Different species have a vast variety of body shapes and range from a few millimetres to 30 centimetres long. The word nudibranch is Latin and literally means “naked gills”. The name refers to the circle of exposed gills on the back of many species.
Where do sea slugs live?
Nudibranchs can easily be seen by observant divers in all of Western Australia’s marine parks. On reef walls or reef tops of Perth’s Marmion Marine Park, or other parts of south-western Australia, slender blue and orange nudibranchs (Chromodoris westraliensis) may nestle among an array of other invertebrates, such as sponges, on which some predate. Another common species at Marmion is a pink-spotted, bright orange nudibranch (Ceratosoma brevicaudaum). However, hundreds of species of nudibranchs that have so far been recorded in Western Australian waters. Divers willing to investigate nooks and crannies can often spot species that have not yet been scientifically described.
What does a sea slug eat?
The sea slug is a herbivorous animals and feeds on plankton and decaying matter on the ocean floor, along with grazing on the rocks and coral reefs for algae. By munching on the decomposing plant matter on the ocean floor, the sea slug is of great benefit to every marine environment where the sea inhabits.
What are the natural enemies of the sea slug?
Due to their motionless nature, sea slugs are often very exposed and are therefore popular prey for a wide variety of predatory animals in the oceans. Crabs, lobsters, fish and even humans are among the animals that prey on the fleshy sea slug. Some species of sea slug are able to protect themselves from danger by wrapping their tentacles around potential predators, so that the predator is unable to harm them. This only applies however to the species of sea slug that actually have tentacles, others are completely defenceless.
Sea slug images
Sea slug Wallpapers
Download free Sea slug wallpapers, click on the image to open the large version.
Sea Slug wallpaper 1
Sea Slug wallpaper 2
Sea Slug wallpaper 3
Sea Slug wallpaper 4
Sea slug Coloring pages
Print free Sea slug coloring pages, click on the image to open the large version.
