naked gills

nanoreefing4fun

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
found this interesting...

The word nudibranch is made from two Latin words nudus = naked and anbranchia = gills. All sea slugs have evolved from snails which have a shell.Nudibranch essentially means 'naked gills' and refers to the fact that in sea slugs the protective shell is lost and the gills are exposed In many nudibranchs, the gills can be quickly withdrawn into a gill pocket if they are in danger of being nibbled by a predator.

post by bill rudman on a sea slug forum
 

Paul B

Well-Known Member
Actually sea slugs and nudibranchs are two different animals. You are correct naked gills are nudibranch's and they are all carnivorous but sea slugs do not have exposed gills and are vegans. :cool:
About 100 of these Elisia Crispata or lettuce slugs hatched in my tank. They are vegatarians until they grow up then live on sunlight. They have no external gills.
:rolleyes: They don't have much in the way of eyes, ears or fingernails or personality either.
 

Oxylebius

Well-Known Member
Great thread!

People use the terms 'sea slug' and 'nudibranch' interchangeably. So it gets confusing. Sea slug is any slug that doesn't have a shell (verses snails). Nudibranchs are sea slugs. But, not all sea slugs are nudibranchs. Nudibranchs are one group (order) of sea slugs.

Nudibranch is pronounced Nudi-brank.

All nudibranchs are carnivores. Therefore, they aren't usually wanted in most aquarist's tanks.

Their are four suborders within the ORDER NUDIBRANCHIA:
  • DORIDINA (e.g. dorids).
    • Feed on sponges, bryozoans and tunicates.
  • DENDRONOTINA
    • With few exceptions, dendronotids feed exclusively on cnidarians.
  • ARMINA
    • Feeds on gorgonians (e.g. sea pens) and soft corals, but the nudibranchs in this category tend to be found breaking the rules often and can be found feeding on a variety of critters.
  • AEOLIDINA (e.g. Montipora-eating and Zoanthid-eating aeolids, Berghia, etc.).
    • The vast majority feed on hydroids (although some also prey on other opisthobranchs or their eggs, corals, gorgonians, sea anemones, bryozoans or tunicates).

A few Nudibranch Exceptions for reef tanks:
  1. There are some true nudibranchs that can do well in aquaria, and one of the most popular species is Berghia verrucicornis. Berghia are being actively cultured for addition to aquaria plagued by those pesky glass anemones, Aiptasia.
  2. And, there is even a filter-feeding dendronotid nudibranch, Melibe leonina, that can be maintained on feedings of enriched brine shrimp in aquaria! I've had the opportunity to smell the mucus of a cold-water Melibe species that lives in kelp forests, and the mucus smells like watermelons! There is an odd bit of trivia for you.

http://www.nudipixel.net/
Nudi Pixel is a web-based identification tool for nudibranchs worldwide using photographs as the first point of identification. It is underpinned by up to date scientific classification. User-friendly, as it is designed with non-scientist users in mind.

http://www.seaslugforum.net/
On the Sea Slug Forum you can find out more about nudibranchs, bubble-shells, sea hares and other sea slugs. This site aims to generate more interest in these fascinating animals by sharing information with a worldwide audience. The Forum is a useful tool for anyone with an interest in sea slugs from scientists and students to divers and aquarists.
 

nanoreefing4fun

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
Cheers Paul & Sue - always enjoy the reads & learning ! :nessie:

as one who has had no formal education in Marine Biology - all my leaning has come from reading post on RS and articles on the web, I find it all very fascinating, especially coming from a computer science background.

Marine biology is the scientific study of organisms in the ocean or other marinebodies of water. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land,marine biology classifies species based on the environment rather than on taxonomy
 

Oxylebius

Well-Known Member
Marine biology is the scientific study of organisms in the ocean or other marine bodies of water. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies species based on the environment rather than on taxonomy

Thanks Glenn. More information on DNA and morphology (structure) is helping to reclassify (taxonomy) some species in the marine environment.
 
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