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 Spanish shawl, Flabellina iodinea
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A nudibranch (pronounced /nudɪbɹaŋk/) is a member of one suborder of soft-bodied, shell-less marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusks, which are noted for their often extraordinary colors and striking forms. The Spanish shawl, Flabellina iodinea, is a Species of aolid Nudibranch, a very colorful sea Slug. Molluscs are animals belonging to the phylum Mollusca. There are around 250000 extant Species within the phylum with an estimated 70000 The class Gastropoda or the gastropods, also previously known as gasteropods, or univalves, and more commonly known as Snails Orthogastropoda is one of two major Taxonomic groupings of snails and slugs an extremely large Subclass within the huge class Gastropoda. Heterobranchia, the heterobranchs, (meaning "different-gilled snails" is a Taxonomic Superorder of sea Snails marine An opisthobranch (ō-pĭsʹthə-brăngk is any member of the very large and diverse group of rather specialized highly evolved marine slugs and snails ( marine Gastropod This article is about the taxonomic rank for the sequence of species in a taxonomic list see Taxonomic order In scientific classification used Marine is an Umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the Sea or Ocean, such as Marine biology, Marine An opisthobranch (ō-pĭsʹthə-brăngk is any member of the very large and diverse group of rather specialized highly evolved marine slugs and snails ( marine Gastropod The class Gastropoda or the gastropods, also previously known as gasteropods, or univalves, and more commonly known as Snails Molluscs are animals belonging to the phylum Mollusca. There are around 250000 extant Species within the phylum with an estimated 70000 The suborder Nudibranchia is the largest suborder of heterobranchs, with more than 3,000 described species. Heterobranchia, the heterobranchs, (meaning "different-gilled snails" is a Taxonomic Superorder of sea Snails marine
The word "nudibranch" comes from the Latin nudus, naked, and the Greek brankhia, gills. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly A gill is an anatomical structure found in many aquatic organisms
Nudibranchs are often casually called "sea slugs", a non-scientific term which has led some people to assume that every sea slug is a nudibranch. Slug is a common non-scientific word which is often applied to any Gastropod mollusk whatsoever that has a very reduced shell a small internal shell However, while it is true that nudibranchs are very numerous in terms of species, and are often very attractive, there are numerous other kinds of sea slugs belonging to several taxonomic groups that are not very closely related to nudibranchs. Taxonomy is the practice and science of classification The word comes from the Greek, taxis (meaning 'order' 'arrangement' and, nomos A fair number of these other sea slugs are colorful and thus are even more easily confused with nudibranchs.
(Other marine shell-less gastropods or "sea slug" groups include additional heterobranch shell-less gastropod groups such as the Cephalaspidea sea slugs including the colorful Aglajidae, and other heterobranchs such as the Sacoglossa, the sea butterflies, the sea angels, and the often rather large sea hares. Heterobranchia, the heterobranchs, (meaning "different-gilled snails" is a Taxonomic Superorder of sea Snails marine The suborder Cephalaspidea, also known as the headshield slugs and bubble shells, is a Suborder of sea slugs and bubble snails marine Aglajidae is a family of often colorful medium-sized sea Slugs marine Opisthobranch Gastropod Mollusks These are Sacoglossa, commonly known as the sacoglossans, are a Taxonomic order of small bubble Snails sea Snails and sea Slugs Sea butterflies, also known as Thecosomata or flapping Snails, are a Taxonomic suborder of Pelagic swimming sea snails Sea angels, also known as cliones, and previously known as one kind of Pteropod, are a group of small swimming sea Slugs. Sea hares ( Aplysia species and related genera are very large sea Slugs with a soft internal shell made of protein The term sea slug is also sometimes loosely applied to the only very distantly related, pelagic, caenogastropods within the superfamily Carinarioidea, and may also be casually used for the even more distantly related pulmonate sea slugs, the Onchidiidae. Any water in the sea that is not close to the bottom is in the pelagic zone. The Pulmonata or "pulmonates" are an order (once a Subclass) of Snails and Slugs that have developed a pallial Lung Onchidiidae are a family of small air-breathing sea Slugs They are shell-less marine Pulmonate Gastropod Molluscs These )
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Distribution
Nudibranchs occur worldwide.
Habitat
Nudibranchs live at virtually all depths of salt water, but reach their greatest size and variation in warm, shallow waters.
Description
The body forms of nudibranchs vary enormously, but because they are opisthobranchs, unlike most other gastropods they are bilaterally symmetrical because they have undergone secondary detorsion. Hermissenda crassicornis is a Species of small brightly-colored sea Slug or Nudibranch, a marine Opisthobranch Moss Beach is a coastal Census-designated place in San Mateo County, California with a year 2000 census population of 1953 "Bilateral symmetry" redirects here For bilateral symmetry in mathematics see Reflection symmetry. Torsion is a Gastropod Synapomorphy which occurs in all gastropods during Larval development
They lack a mantle cavity. The mantle is an important part of the anatomy of Molluscs It is the dorsal body wall which covers the visceral mass
They vary in adult size from 20 to 600 mm. The Millimetre ( American spelling: millimeter, symbol mm) is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to
The adult form is without a shell or operculum (a bony or horny plate covering the opening of the shell, when the body is withdrawn). The operculum, meaning little lid (plural opercula or operculums is a corneous or Calcareous structure which exists in some groups of marine freshwater and land
The name nudibranch is appropriate, since the dorids (infraclass Anthobranchia) breathe through a branchial plume of bushy extremities on their back, rather than using gills. By contrast, on the back of the aeolids in infraclass Cladobranchia there are brightly colored sets of tentacles called cerata. Cerata are dorsal and lateral outgrowths on the body of Nudibranchs The singular is ceras, and the name is from the Classical Greek word "keratos"
Nudibranchs have cephalic (head) tentacles, which are sensitive to touch, taste, and smell. Club-shaped rhinophores detect odors. A rhinophore is one of a pair of club-shaped structures which are the most prominent part of the external head anatomy of a group of sea Slugs marine Gastropod
Life habits
Reproduction
Nudibranchs are hermaphroditic, and thus have a set of reproductive organs for both genders, but they can rarely fertilize themselves. The orange-peel doris, ( Acanthodoris lutea) is a Species of Nudibranch or sea Slug, a shell-less marine Opisthobranch A hermaphrodite is an organism having both male and female reproductive organs
Nudibranchs typically deposit their eggs within a gelatinous spiral. [1]
Feeding
Nudibranchs are carnivorous. A carnivore (ˈkɑrnɪvɔər meaning 'meat eater' ( Latin carne meaning 'flesh' and vorare meaning 'to devour' is any animal with a diet consisting Some feed on sponges, others on hydroids, others on bryozoans, and some are cannibals, eating other sea slugs, or, on some occasions, members of their own species. The sponges or poriferans (from Latin porus "pore" and ferre "to bear" are Animals Hydroid may refer to Marine Biology Colonial plant-like animals closely related to jellyfish with stinging cells any member of the invertebrate order Hydroida (class Bryozoans are tiny colonial Animals that generally build stony Skeletons of Calcium carbonate, superficially similar to Coral (although some Cannibalism (from Spanish es ''caníbal'' in connection with cannibalism among the Antillean Caribs, also called anthropophagy (from Greek ἄνθρωπος There is also a group that feeds on tunicates and barnacles. Tunicate, also known as urochordata, tunicata (and by the common names of urochordates, sea squirts, and sea pork) is the A barnacle is a type of Arthropod belonging to infraclass Cirripedia in the subphylum Crustacea, and is hence distantly related to They even sometimes feed on anemones.
Colors and camouflage
Among this group can be found the most colorful creatures on earth. In the course of evolution, sea slugs have lost their shell because they have developed other defense mechanisms. Their anatomy may resemble the texture and color of the surrounding plants, allowing them to camouflage (cryptic behavior). Camouflage is a method of cryptic or concealing coloration that allows an otherwise visible Organism Others, as seen especially well on Chromodorids, have an intense and bright coloring, which warns that they are distasteful or poisonous (aposematic coloration). Chromodoris quadricolor is a Species of very colorful sea Slug, a dorid Nudibranch, a marine Opisthobranch Gastropod
Nudibranchs that feed on hydroids can store the hydroid's nematocysts (stinging cells) in the dorsal body wall, the cerata. A cnidocyte, cnidoblast or nematocyte, is a type of Venomous cell unique to the Phylum Cnidaria ( Corals In Anatomy, the dorsum is the upper side of animals that typically run fly or swim in a horizontal position and the back side of animals (like humans that walk upright Cerata are dorsal and lateral outgrowths on the body of Nudibranchs The singular is ceras, and the name is from the Classical Greek word "keratos" The nematocysts wander through the alimentary tract without harming the nudibranch. Once further into the organ, the cells are brought to the specific placements on the creatures hind body via intestinal protuberances. Nudibranches can protect themselves from the hydroids and their nematocysts. It is not yet clear how, but special cells with large vacuoles probably play an important role. In general vacuole functions include Removing unwanted structural debris Isolating materials that might be harmful or a threat to the cell Containing They can also take in plants' chloroplasts (plant cell organelles used for photosynthesis) and use them to make food for themselves.
Another way of protection is the release of a sour liquid from the skin. Once the specimen is physically irritated or touched by another creature, it will release the slime automatically.
Taxonomy
The taxonomy of the Nudibranchia is still under investigation. Taxonomy is the practice and science of classification The word comes from the Greek, taxis (meaning 'order' 'arrangement' and, nomos Many taxonomists in the past treated the Nudibranchia as an order, based on the authoritative work of Johannes Thiele (1931), who built on the concepts of Henri Milne-Edwards (1848). For the 19th century chemist by the same name see Johannes Thiele (chemist. Henri Milne-Edwards ( October 23, 1800 - July 29, 1885) was an eminent French Zoologist. Newer insights derived from morphological data and gene-sequence research, have confirmed these ideas. On the basis of investigation of 18S rDNA sequence data, there is strong evidence for support of the monophyly of the Nudibranchia and its two major groups, the Anthobranchia/Doridoidea and Cladobranchia. A clade is a taxonomic group comprising a single Common ancestor and all the descendants of that ancestor
- Infraorder Anthobranchia Férussac, 1819 (dorids)
- Superfamily Doridoidea Rafinesque, 1815
- Superfamily Doridoxoidea Bergh, 1900
- Superfamily Onchidoridoidea Alder & Hancock, 1845
- Superfamily Polyceroidea Alder & Hancock, 1845
- Infraorder Cladobranchia Willan & Morton, 1984 (aeolids)
- Superfamily Aeolidioidea J. E. Gray, 1827
- Superfamily Arminoidea Rafinesque, 1814
- Superfamily Dendronotoidea Allman, 1845
- Superfamily Metarminoidea Odhner in Franc, 1968
A study published in May 2001, has again revised the taxonomy of the Nudibranchia [2]. Baron André Étienne Justin Pascal Joseph François d'Audebert de Férussac ( 30 December 1786 - 21 January 1836) was a French Doridoidea, commonly known as dorid Nudibranchs, are a Taxonomic Superfamily of medium to large shell-less sea Slugs marine Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz, as he is known in Europe ( October 22 1783 - September 18 1840) was a nineteenth-century Doridoxoidea, commonly known as dorid Nudibranchs, are a Taxonomic Superfamily of medium to large shell-less sea Slugs marine Onchidoridoidea is a Taxonomic superfamily of colorful sea Slugs dorid Nudibranchs marine Opisthobranch Gastropod Polyceridae is a Taxonomic family of sea Slugs specifically of dorid Nudibranchs marine Opisthobranch Gastropod Aeolidioidea is a superfamily of small sea Slugs the aeolid Nudibranchs They are Opisthobranch Gastropod Mollusks John Edward Gray ( 12 February 1800 &ndash 7 March 1875) was a British zoologist. Arminoidea is a superfamily of small sea Slugs aeolid nudibranchs Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz, as he is known in Europe ( October 22 1783 - September 18 1840) was a nineteenth-century Dendronotoidea is a Taxonomic superfamily of small colorful sea slugs or Nudibranchs These are known as aeolid nudibranchs Metarminoidea is a Taxonomic superfamily of colorful sea slugs or Nudibranchs marine Opisthobranch Gastropod They are thus divided into two major clades:
- Anthobranchia (= Bathydoridoidea + Doridoidea)
- Dexiarchia nom. nov. (= Doridoxoidea + Dendronotoidea + Aeolidoidea + “Arminoidea”).
The dorids (infraorder Anthobranchia) have the following characteristics: the branchial plume forms a cluster on the posterior part of the neck, around the eyes. Fringes on the mantle do not contain any intestines.
The aeolids (infraorder Cladobranchia) have the following characteristics: Instead of the branchial plume, they have cerata. Cerata are dorsal and lateral outgrowths on the body of Nudibranchs The singular is ceras, and the name is from the Classical Greek word "keratos" They lack a mantle. Only species of the Cladobranchia are reported to house zooxanthellae. Zooxanthellae (plural ˌzoʊoʊzænˈθɛli are golden-brown intracellular Endosymbionts of various marine Animals and Protozoa, especially Anthozoans
Where to view nudibranchs
The Birch Aquarium at La Jolla, California, has the largest collection of nudibranchs on display in the United States. Birch Aquarium at Scripps (sometimes referred to as Scripps Aquarium or Birch Aquarium) is the public exploration center for the world-renowned Scripps La Jolla (ləˈhɔɪə "luh-HOY-uh") is a wealthy Seaside resort community of up to 42808 residents within the city of San Diego, California California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the
Footnotes
- ^ Klussmann-Kolb A (2001). "The Reproductive Systems of the Nudibranchia (Gastropoda, Opisthobranchia): Comparative Histology and Ultrastructure of the Nidamental Glands with Aspects of Functional Morphology". Zoologischer Anzeiger 240 (2).
- ^ Schrödl M. ; Wägele H. 2 Willan R. C. (2001). "Taxonomic Redescription of the Doridoxidae(Gastropoda: Opisthobranchia), an Enigmatic Family of Deep Water Nudibranchs, with Discussion of Basal Nudibranch Phylogeny". Zoologischer Anzeiger, 240 (1): 83. doi:. A digital object identifier ( DOI) is a permanent identifier given to an Electronic document.
See also
References
- H. Melibe leonina, Common names the "hooded nudibranch" or the "lion nudibranch" is a Species of Predatory Nudibranch Wägele and R. C. Willan (September 2000). "Phylogeny of the Nudibranchia". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 1 (1): 83–181.
External links
- Lots of images and information on Australian nudibranchs
- Nudibranchs in their natural environment, Scuba Diving - Narooma NSW
- Sea Slug Forum: many images and much valuable information worldwide
- Nudi Pixel: Online resource for nudibranchs and sea slugs identification using photographs
- Nudibranch gallery
- Bibliography and portal to opisthobranch, nudibranch & seaslug information
- Nudibranch photo gallery from Bali
- Scottish Nudibranchs: Online resource for identification of species found in Scottish waters
- Born to be Wild: Sea Slugs, 04/30/2008
- http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/06/nudibranchs/doubilet-photography?email=focus_20080523
Images
 Godiva quadricolor |
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Image:Collingwood's Chromodoris. Hurghada ( ar: Al Ghardaqah, الغردقة is an Egyptian City and a tourist center on the Red Sea. This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. Hurghada ( ar: Al Ghardaqah, الغردقة is an Egyptian City and a tourist center on the Red Sea. This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. The Swan River estuary flows through the city of Perth, in the south west of Western Australia. Western Australia is a state occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. Sipadan is the only oceanic island in Malaysia, rising 2000 feet or 600m from the seabed For the biogeographical region see Malesia Malaysia (məˈleɪʒə or /məˈleɪziə/ is a country that consists of thirteen states and Sipadan is the only oceanic island in Malaysia, rising 2000 feet or 600m from the seabed For the biogeographical region see Malesia Malaysia (məˈleɪʒə or /məˈleɪziə/ is a country that consists of thirteen states and JPG
Collingwood's chromodoris |
 Chromodoris lochi |
 Two clown nudibranchs |
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 Notodoris minor on the ribbon reefs off Cooktown, Queensland, Australia |
 Chromodoris willani |
 Nembrotha kubaryana |
 Chromodoris annae |
 Pteraeolidia ianthina |
 Clown nudibranch |
 Acanthodoris lutea |
Dictionary
nudibranch
-noun
- A term for any sea slug; specifically the animals belonging to the suborder Nudibranchia, the largest suborder of the order Opisthobranchia.
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