SOME MARINE SLUGS

By Andreea Nicoleta Radu

NEMBROTHA KUBARYANA

The Nembrotha Kubaryana is a species of colourful sea slug in the family of Polyceridae.

It can reach the 12 cm of length and it's dark-bodied with green stripes running down the body or have green raised spots. Its foot and head are in the middle of a red-orange and the rinophores can be red or green.

These animals live in the Indo-West Pacific and they are feeding ascidans an, above all, on green-ringed ascidan.

Nembrotha kubaryana uses the toxins in its prey ascidians to defend itself against predators. It stores the ascidian's toxins in its tissues and then releases them in a slimy defensive mucus when alarmed.

CHROMODORIS LOCHI

Chromodoris Lochi is a marine gastropod mollusk in the family of Chromorididae.

This animal is blue and sometimes blueish.white with three dark lines across its body. It can reach 34 mm in length and the gills and the rinophores are a translucent straw-color, trought to pink and light orange.

Chromodoris Lochi, like other slugs, feeds on sponges.

This species of slug is found in the tropical Western Pacific Ocean and is known from the Great Barrier Reef in the Southern Hemisphere to the Philippines in the Nothern Hemisphere.

NEMBROTHA PURPUREOLINEATA

The Nembrotha Purpureolineata is a dorid nudibranch in the family of Polyceridae.

This species is a large pale-bodied dorid. Its ground colour is a creamy white and it's mostly hidden by a large brown patch which covers most of its body. Usually it has brown stripes running down the sides of the body and round the head. The rinophores are red to orange-red and its foot is purple. It may reach a toal length of 120mm.

This slug feed on ascidians and tunicates, most of them on the yellow-lined ascidian Clavelina Meridionalis.

It's located in the west of the tropical Indo-West Pacific Ocean.

HYPSELODORIS BENNETTI

Hypselodoris Bennetti is a colourful sea slug and a marine gastropod mollusk in the family ofChromodorididae. It has a turquoise-blue body and a bright yellow mantle edge. There are red spots on its under body. The gills and the rinophores are white, outlined with pink or red. It can reach a total length of 50 mm and it feeds on sponges from the genus Psammocinia.

This nudibranch is found in Southearsten Australia from Queensland to Victoria.

PHYLLODESMIUM POINDIMIEI

This species of sea slug is an olid nudibranch in the family of Facelinidae.

It can reach a length beetwen 12-50 mm. Its body is composed by long pink spots.

This species contains zooxanthellae. It feeds on the octocoral Carioja Riisei. The crab Thalima Integra is a predator of Phyllodesmium poindimiei.

We can found this marine slug in Australia, New Caledonia and Hawaii.

MEXICHROMIS MULTITUBERCULATA

Mexichromis Multitberculata is a species of sea slug and a dorid nudibranch in the familyChromorodididae.

This slug can reach a total length of 30 mm. It has purple spots around the edge of the mantle. The mantle also has purple tipped tubercules.

It is found in a lot places:

• Indonesia

• Malaysia

• Papua New Guinea

• Sulawuesi

• Egypt

• Thailand

• Seto

• Kii

• Japan

• Hainan Island

• Hong Kong