Gymnodorididae Family

Family Gymnodorididae

The size of adults ranges from very small to large. The body is soft and elongate, and it tapers posteriorly to a tail. The body may be covered with low pustules. Some gymnodorids have translucent bodies with the viscera clearly visible and the viscera become even more noticeable when the animal is engorged with ingested prey. The mantle is much reduced with the skirt represented by a small ridge around the anterior end. The rhinophores are lamellate and non-retractile. The gills are non-retractile, small, simply pinnate and arranged around the anus as a full circle or anteriorly as a partial circle or arc or in a straight line. Gymnodoridids are most often observed crawling very quickly across the substrate on the hunt for prey, which is other sea slugs.