Nudibranchs are a group of soft-bodied, marine gastropod molluscs. Commonly known as sea slugs. Some are known for their extraordinary colours and striking forms, Currently, about 3,000 valid species of nudibranchs are known. Although related to snails, these colourful little creatures have ditched the homes they carry on their backs as they have evolved.
Nudibranchs can be found in oceans around the world, even in the Arctic and Antarctic. The largest diversity of nudibranchs occurs in warm waters on shallow reefs.
With so many species of nudibranch, their forms are very diverse. The smallest species is just 4 mm long while the largest species can grow up to 60 cm long. The largest nudibranch ever recorded was a 52 cm Spanish Dancer, found in the Red Sea.
Nudibranchs also have eyes but they just can distinguish between black and light. A pair of tentacles called rhinophores on the nudibranch's head have scent receptors that allow the nudibranch to smell its food or other nudibranchs.
Most Nudibranchs eat using a radula, a toothed structure that can be compared to the tongue they use it to scrape off their meal from the rocks they cling to; some suck out the prey after predigesting its tissue with selected enzymes. They are carnivorous, so their prey includes sponges, coral, anemones, hydroids, barnacles, fish eggs, sea slugs, and other nudibranchs. Nudibranchs are picky eaters—individual species or families of nudibranchs may eat only one kind of prey. Nudibranchs get their bright colors from the food they eat. These colors may be used for camouflage or to warn predators of the poison that lies within.
There are certain species of sea slugs such as Costasiella kuroshimae,or leaf sheep that produce solar power by eating corals which are rich in algae. To know more about this certain sea slug who can perform photosynthesize like plants, we already have a video about it. The link will be in the card and description box.
Don't be fooled by their sweet appearance, as being soft bodied animals, nudibranchs have come up with some rather impressive modes of self defence to protect themselves from predators. Only a few species are capable of making their own poisons, most actually pilfer them from the foods that they eat
Perhaps even more fascinatingly, some nudibranchs that feed on hydrozoids, a family of sedentary animals related to jellyfish, can store the stinging cells of the hydrozoid in their own skin. They pass through the nudibranch’s digestive system without harming it and then are concentrated in the animal’s hind end. Any animal that tries to bite one of these nudibranchs will receive a painful sting and will likely not go near one again.
In all nudibranchs, which have both female and male sex organs, the sexual openings are on the right side of the body. However, they still require a mate in order to reproduce, as they are not able to self-fertilize.
to mate, two nudibranchs come together side by side and exchange sperm sacs through a tube, a process that can last from seconds to a whole day depending on the species.
The number of eggs each species normally lays variest widely. Some species such as Vayssierea felis lay just one while Aplysia fasciata may lay more than 25 million eggs.
Most nudibranch species will live for several months, with some living for up to a year while other species having a life cycle of only a few weeks.
Despite all of this, it has been known that some humans eat these creatures, although when the experience is likened to "chewing an eraser" it's not high on the list of delicacies I would like to try!
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