It takes a certain type of person to get excited by a slug, but when it comes to the slug of the oceans, the nudibranch is something that divides opinion amongst us divers. Love them or hate them, there’s something very satisfying about locating one of these wildly coloured molluscs – I’m of the belief that the people who don’t like them are the ones that can’t find them, after all they can be very small indeed!
Want to know more about these incredible little works of art? Check out these interesting nudi-facts that you may be unaware of:
Nudibranch comes from the Latin word ‘nudus’ and the Greek word ‘brankhia,’ which means ‘naked’ and ‘gills’ respectively. This is because the little flower-like protrusion on the back of the nudibranch are the gills, exposed for all the world to see.
Some species of nudibranch can make themselves solar-powered! They eat corals which are rich with algae, absorb the chloroplasts of the algae and can then engage in photosynthesis to produce energy.
There are over 3,000 species of nudibranchs, and they can be found either very shallow to depths of around 2500m!
Some humans actually eat nudibranchs. Chileans and some islanders in Russia and Alaska roast or boil sea slugs and sometimes eat them raw…it has been described as “chewing an eraser”.
Some nudibranchs are poisonous while others simply pretend to be poisonous, which is evident by their vibrant colors which act as a warning to would-be predators. Amongst other things they feed on stinging cells of hydrozoids and store them in their bottoms for protection.
Nudibranchs are hermaphrodites, being simultaneously both male and female (sorry for assuming their genders) and having both a penis and a vag. While mating they both perform the male role of giving the sperm, and the female role of receiver simultaneously. Sexy! NB They cannot do the sex on themselves, for you pervs out there who were wondering.
A Japanese team of researchers obviously wanted to know more about this, and discovered that one species named chromodoris reticulata after sex removed the penis, crawled away with their dongs dragging beside them, then a little later discarded them, to then pull out a new one!
Some nudibranch can make sounds loud enough for us humans to hear! In 1884 it was reported that two species in an aquarium were making a tapping noise, probably trying to ask if they could be let out of the bloody tank, I’d wager.
After a romantic lovemaking session is winding down the siphopteron genus of nudibranch then proceed to stab each other randomly, with one species in particular choosing only to stab their partner right in the head, the charming sod.
Nudibranch unfortunately have a pretty short lifespan; some live up to a year, and others just a few weeks.
