Sea slug

About Sea slug

Soft-bodied marine gastropods, often brilliantly colored. Eaten in parts of East Asia.

Nudibranchs () are a group of soft-bodied marine gastropod molluscs, belonging to the order Nudibranchia, that shed their shells after their larval stage. They are noted for their often extraordinary colours and striking forms, and they have been given colourful nicknames to match, such as “clown”, “marigold”, “splendid”, “dancer”, “dragon” , and “sea rabbit”. About 3,000 species of nudibranchs are known. The word nudibranch comes from the Latin nudus ‘naked’ and the Ancient Greek βράγχια (bránkhia) ‘gills’. Nudibranchs are often casually called sea slugs, as they are a family of opisthobranchs (sea slugs), within the phylum Mollusca (molluscs), but many sea slugs belong to several taxonomic groups that are not closely related to nudibranchs. A number of these other sea slugs, such as the photosynthetic Sacoglossa and the colourful Aglajidae, are often confused with nudibranchs.

Nudibranchs () are a group of soft-bodied marine gastropod molluscs, belonging to the order Nudibranchia, that shed their shells after their larval stage. They are noted for their often extraordinary colours and striking forms, and they have been given colourful nicknames to match, such as “clown”, “marigold”, “splendid”, “dancer”, “dragon” , and “sea rabbit”. About 3,000 species of nudibranchs are known. The word nudibranch comes from the Latin nudus ‘naked’ and the Ancient Greek βράγχια (bránkhia) ‘gills’. Nudibranchs are often casually called sea slugs, as they are a family of opisthobranchs (sea slugs), within the phylum Mollusca (molluscs), but many sea slugs belong to several taxonomic groups that are not closely related to nudibranchs. A number of these other sea slugs, such as the photosynthetic Sacoglossa and the colourful Aglajidae, are often confused with nudibranchs. Distribution and habitat Nudibranchs occur in seas worldwide, ranging from the Arctic, through temperate and tropical regions, to the Southern Ocean around Antarctica. They are almost entirely restricted to salt water, although a few species are known to inhabit lower salinities in brackish water. Nudibranchs…