Chromodoris Nudibranch |
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The word nudibranch comes from the Latin nudus, naked, and the Greek brankhia, lungs. The name nudibranch is appropriate, since they breathe through a branchial plume of bushy extremities on their back, rather than using gills.
Nudibranchs occur in seas worldwide and live at all depths, but reach their greatest size and variation in colors and body form in warm, shallow waters. There are more than 3,000 nudibranch species. They are carnivorous, feeding on sponges, hydroids, tunicates, barnacles, anemones, and bryozoans. A few nudibranchs, on occasion, will eat members of their own species. |
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