Category: Defences, Warnings, Camouflage & Mimicry
Here are, and will be added, NudiNotes about the various methods by way of appearance, behaviour, structure, chemistry, adaptation and the integration of some or all of these that sea slugs employ in order to avoid and defend themselves against predators.
NUDIBRANCH GILL GUARDING
NUDIBRANCH GILL GUARDING Shell-less but not defenceless The sea is full of hungry mouths, many many hungry mouths either lying patiently in ambush or constantly on the move, in all directions, hunting for any opportunity to take a bite and feed. The last thing any animal needs is to have some attractive piece of their
Read MoreILLUMINATION ENLIGHTENMENT – Bioluminescence in Nudibranchs
Plocamopherus ceylonicus displaying the four papilla-mounted bioluminescent globes arranged around the vulnerable gill. ILLUMINATION ENLIGHTENMENT Bioluminescence in Nudibranchs Species of the humble sea slug can possess unusual and extraordinary capabilities such as autotomy, zooxanthellae hosting, kleptoplasty, exploitation of their prey’s defences through nematocyst sequestration and toxin accumulation, not to mention some incredible host mimicking. Another,
Read MoreAUTOTOMY – THE SELF SACRIFICE DEFENCE
Autotomy – the Self Sacrifice Defence The ability to cast off a particular section of their anatomy, in order to facilitate escape from a predator, is possessed by a wide range of animals. Although the phenomenon, even in the Mollusca, had been recognized previously the term wasn’t coined until 1883 by Leon Fredericq as
Read More