Animal Profiles
Molluscs

Sea Slug

Nudibranchia

Living

Living individuals or members of this group exist today. This does not mean they are safe from extinction.

Sea slugs include many colourful marine snails without an adult external shell. This account describes the Spanish shawl (Flabellinopsis iodinea) of the northeastern Pacific.

Flabellinopsis iodinea, the representative described in this account.

Flabellinopsis iodinea, the representative described in this account.

Magnus Kjærgaard · CC BY-SA

At a glance

Location
Spanish shawls occur on rocky shallow-water habitats, including the tide pools and kelp-associated communities described by Cabrillo National Monument in California.
Habitat
Coast
Diet
Carnivore
Food
Small hydrozoan colonies provide food.

Classification

Common name
Sea Slug
Browse group
Molluscs
Scientific name or taxon
Nudibranchia
Taxon rank
order
Order
Nudibranchia
Source classification
Gastropoda

Taxonomy checked against GBIF. For breeds and hybrids, this describes the listed parent taxon.

Three things to know

  • Orange cerata cover the back.
  • It feeds on hydrozoans.
  • It can swim by flexing its body.

Habitat and range

Spanish shawls occur on rocky shallow-water habitats, including the tide pools and kelp-associated communities described by Cabrillo National Monument in California.

Appearance and adaptations

A translucent purple body carries bright orange fingerlike cerata. Red rhinophores help detect chemical cues from mates and prey in the surrounding water.

Diet and behaviour

Small hydrozoan colonies provide food. The slug can retain stinging cells from its prey for defence and can swim away by flexing its body rhythmically.

Sources

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