The Vibrant World of Sea Slugs

The Vibrant World of Sea Slugs Explore six species of the ocean’s most unique and colorful creatures.

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Table of Contents 4 Leaf Slug 6 Nembrotha Aurea 8 Sea Bunny 10 Cristate Neon Slug 12 Spanish Shawl 14 Blue Dragon 3

Leaf Slug Latin Name: Costasiella kuroshimae Habitat: Saltwater environments near Indonesia, Japan, and the Philippines Size: From 5mm to 1cm Diet: sucks chloroplasts from algae Coloration: Their appearance comes from their diet of cloroplsts. It also allows them to camoflauge into their environemt when they eat.

The rhinophores are semi-translucent, but appear black toward the ends. There also have two distinct black eyes in between their rhinophores.

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It is the only organism in the entire world that is not a plant yet is able to photosynthesize. This sheep is also able to produce enough energy through kleptoplasty that helps them stay alive for at least 2 months comfortably.

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This pretty sea slug is shaped a lot like the slugs you usually see on land! They also have some of the most distinctive eggs on the list. Nembrotha lineolata lays its eggs in a distinctive bright orange “spiral,” often on sea squirts or other types of marine life.

Nembrotha Aurea Latin Name: Nembrotha aurea Habitat: Much of the western Indo-Pacific Ocean Size: At least 1.2” long Diet: Small creatures called ascidians or “sea squirts” Coloration: It has a yellow base color with dark brown lines. The branches off its body are white and bright blue, while parts of the gills are red.

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Sea Bunny Latin Name: Goniobranchus verrieri Habitat: Various parts of the Indo-West Pacific Size: Between 0.7” and 1.2” long Diet: Various types of sea sponges Coloration: This pretty little sea slug looks a little like a rabbit! Its body is creamy white with a reddish or burnt-orange outline. It has two red gills that look like rabbit ears as well as a puff-like protrusion at the rear.

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Most sea slugs are bright, rainbow-like colors! But while this one looks a bit like a small rabbit, its coloration is a lot like that of a toasted marshmallow.

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Cristate Neon Slug

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Latin Name: Nembrotha cristata Habitat: Indo-West Pacific Ocean Size: At least 2” long Diet: Various types of tunicates (small marine invertebrates) Coloration: This high-contrast sea slug has a black base color. It’s covered in raised, bright green spots. Its black, ear-like rhinophores are lined in green.

Like many of the sea slugs on the list, this one is toxic to predators. Its unusually bright coloring is meant to warn predators that it is dangerous to eat.

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Spanish Shawl

This pretty sea slug is one of the relative few that has a common name. Thanks to its bright cerata, it does look a bit like a shawl. Experts think the bright orange cerata are meant to help it camouflage among its prey as it eats.

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Latin Name: Flabellinopsis iodinea Habitat: Shallow waters off the west coast of North America and parts of Mexico; also found in the Galapagos Islands and in the Gulf of California Size: Up to about 2.75” long Diet: Eudendrium hydroids Coloration: This sea slug has a base color of electric purple. The cerata are orange. This species also has scarlet rhinophores.

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Blue Dragon Latin Name: Glaucus atlanticus Habitat: Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans in tropical and subtropical waters Size: About 1.2” long Diet: Small venomous siphonophores Coloration: Its bright blue underside helps the blue glaucus blend into the water’s surface while its grayish backside helps it blend into the ocean when spotted from below. This acts as camoflauge from pretators.

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Blue Glaucus are not venomous on their own.

They ingest the stinging nematocysts of their prey for use in their own defense.

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The Vibrant World of Sea Slugs Explore six species of the ocean’s most unique and colorful creatures.

Desinged by Annika Barstow.

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