favorite nudibranch

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what is your favorite nudibranch?

Costasiella kuroshimae
9
45%
Glaucus atlanticus
5
25%
Elysia chlorotica
4
20%
Hexabranchus sanguineus
1
5%
Flabellinopsis iodenia
0
No votes
Cyerce elegans
1
5%
Phyllodesmium magnum
0
No votes
 
Total votes: 20

stenopushispidus
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favorite nudibranch

Post by stenopushispidus »

this is most likely a controversial subject, but i figured it would be worthwhile to have this poll.

there are a lot of different nudibranchs, but these are some of my favorites :)

costasiella kuroshimae:
often known as the “leaf sheep”, this organism is able to take chloroplast plastids from the algae it consumes and use it for itself for up to 10 days (kleptopasty). the “cow ears” are actually called rhinophores and are used to smell the surrounding seawater as a sort of sense.
video of costasiella kuroshimae in action! https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_cont ... =emb_title

glaucus atlanticus:
often known as the “blue dragon”, this organism is able to eat jellyfish (typically button jellyfish and portuguese man-o-war) and concentrate their toxins to a potentially deadly level for self defense. these are able to float upside down on the surface of the ocean via a bubble of air in its body.

elysia chlorotica:
this organism is actually not a nudibranch but i wanted to have it here anyway because it is much like a nudibranch. elysia chlorotica belongs to the sap sucking sea slug family, bud bears resemblance to a nudibranch. like costasiella kuroshimae, it can use kleptopasty to take chloroplasts and use them for itself for 14 months.

hexabranchus sanguineus:
often known as the “spanish dancer” this is one of the only nudibranch, if not the only, able to swim. it is known for the way it swims, which looks much like a dancer. the “dancing” is actually a way for it to attract a mate.

flabellinopsis iodinea:
often known as the “spanish shawl”, it is known for its “dancing” like the hexabranchus sanguineus. this nudibranch is usually bright colored in purple and blue with orange “spikes” on its back. flabellinopsis iodinea eats a type of hydroid with a pigment that gives the slug its bright colors.

cyerce elegans:
this elegant nudibranch ranges from orange to a dark brown. this organism is quite elusive due to it moving a lot. It can usually be found in the indo-pacific region and hawaii.

phyllodesmium magnum:
this is a type of aeolid nudibranch, or a type of se slug that has cnidosacs (cnidosacs carry cnidocytes, or stinging cells). this organism uses the spikes on its back (cerata) to breathe, defend, and digest food. phyllodesmium magnum eats types of soft corals. this organism stores up algae from the coral it eats in its cerata where the algae continue to photosynthesize, but the glucose made gives phyllodesmium magnus a source of food.

i highly recommend looking up pictures of these organism, they are just so beautiful.

there are far more than 7 types of nudibranch but i couldn’t write out 10 summaries for nudibranch or fit all the nudibranch in one poll so i just chose some of my personal favorites.
Last edited by gz839918 on March 4th, 2021, 12:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: binomial nomenclature
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