Nudibranch

The fascinating Nudibranchs!!!.........???..

Fist of all, nudibranchs, also known as sea slugs, are soft-bodied marine snails belonging to the suborder Nudibranchia, the largest suborder of the order Opisthobranchia. There are more than 3,000 described species.

Do you know what nudibranch <- name means? Well, it comes from Latin "nudus" meaning nude, and from the Greek "brankia" meaning gills. So basically it means "naked gill."

Nudibranchs have cephalic (head) tentacles, which are sensitive to touch, taste, and smell. Also, they are hermaphrodictic, meaning that they can rarely fertilize themselves.

Here is the 180 degree turn, mostly everyone thinks that nudibranchs are herbivores. Well! they are wrong, because nudibranchs usually feast on sponges, hydroids, tunicates, anemones, corals, sea pens, bryozoans, barnacles, and sometimes other nudibranchs!

where in the ocean does it live: They are found in all over the world, also including British Isles, the tropics, and even the Antartics.
Description of life cycle (egg to death)

After mating, nudibranchs lay their egg masses either on or near the organism on which they feed. These egg masses vary in shape, size and colour depending on species. Some sea slugs lay single coils of eggs, while others are in the shape of a thick ribbon wound into a spiral. The egg masses are often white, but they can also be red, pink, orange or any other colour depending on the species. Egg development can take between 5 and 50 days, and is strongly influenced by temperature. Warmer waters generally result in a shorter embryonic period.
Usually the eggs develop first into a larval form called a veliger, which drifts in the ocean currents as plankton. Specific environmental conditions trigger the larvae to settle and metamorphose into the adult form. This larval dispersal is important in the successful exploitation of new areas, since adult nudibranchs move very slowly and cannot travel long distances.

How does it move (if it moves) The nudibranch moves by some mantle like structure.
Unique characteristics: It can feed on corals.
Role in the ecosystem: Anonymous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kingdom-Animilia

Phylum- Mollusca

Class-Gastropoda

Sub Class-Opisthobranchia

Order- Nudibranchia

Family- Chromodorididae

Genus-Chromodoris

Species- Magnifica