What is special about the nudibranch?
What is special about the nudibranch?
Nudibranchs are hermaphrodites, which means that they have both a male and a female genital system. When two nudibranchs meet, they put in contact with their genitals to exchange their male gametes, in order to fertilize their female gametes.
What is a sea slug for kids?
Most creatures known as sea slugs are actually gastropods, i.e. they are sea snails (marine gastropod mollusks) that over evolutionary time have either completely lost their shells, or have seemingly lost their shells due to having a greatly reduced or internal shell.
What do nudibranch sea slug eat?
These psychedelic slugs, also called nudibranchs, are known to feed on tentacled marine organisms known as hydroids, which are related to corals and sea anemones.
Do nudibranchs have eyes?
Nudibranch eyes are located on the head, just at the base of structures called rhinophores (we’ll look at these in more detail in a bit). They are extremely small, and as such are difficult to see in photographs (you can see a couple on this Sea Slug Forum page: www.seaslugforum.net/find/2377).
Do nudibranchs have teeth?
The animals have a set of curved teeth, which they use to eat coral, sponges, and fish eggs off the ocean floor. Nudibranchs use tentacles on their heads to poke around for grub.
Do nudibranchs swim?
Nudibranchs move on a flat, broad muscle called a foot, which leaves a slimy trail. While most are found on the ocean floor, some can swim short distances in the water column by flexing their muscles. Some even swim upside down.
Does a nudibranch have bones?
Concerning their skeleton – slugs, like all molluscs, dont have an internal skeleton and although some books suggest that their shell – if they have one – is an external skeleton (exoskeleton) its main function is defence rather than body support.
Are nudibranchs poisonous?
Some nudibranchs are poisonous while others pretend to be poisonous, which is evident by their vibrant colors. They feed on stinging cells of hydrozoids and store them in the rear of their body for protection. They can also ingest toxins from sponges and become toxic and inedible.
Can I have a nudibranch as a pet?
It is possible to keep some nudibranchs alive in aquaria for some weeks without feeding them.. but what you are doing then is starving them. If you are near the sea and would like to keep a few for a day to two to see what they do, then it is quite easy to keep them in fresh sea water without feeding them.
What are 3 interesting facts about sea slugs?
3 Incredible Sea Slug Facts! Poisonous skin: Some sea slugs eat prey that contains poison. Instead of killing them, this animal stores the poison and releases it as protection against predators. Male and female: All sea slugs contain both male and female organs.
Is a nudibranch a gastropod?
Nudibranchs Are Gastropods in the Phylum Mollusca. Nudibranchs are mollusks in the Class Gastropoda, which includes snails, slugs, limpets, and sea hairs. Many gastropods have a shell. Nudibranchs have a shell in their larval stage, but it disappears in the adult form.
How big do nudibranchs get?
They range in size from microscopic to over a foot and a half long and can weigh up to just over 3 pounds. If you’ve seen one nudibranch, you haven’t seen them all.
How do sea slugs protect themselves?
Poisonous skin: Some sea slugs eat prey that contains poison. Instead of killing them, this animal stores the poison and releases it as protection against predators. Male and female: All sea slugs contain both male and female organs. So, when they mate with another animal they both release eggs.