FSC: 1-17-2020
Hello hello friends, former colleagues, and sea creature lovers all! It's friday and you know what's up - it's time for another edition of Friday Sea Creatures. Put on some Friday Sea Creatures tunes, pour yourself a drink, and check out the:
Hooded Nudibranch (Melibe leonina)
'branch facts:
The body of M. leonina is translucent and is usually colorless to pale yellow or green, and, unusually, lacks jaws or a radula. "How do they eat?!" you ask. Good question:
Adults feed by pulling back their oral hood until it is almost perpendicular to the body, and then thrust it forward until contact is made with a prey organism. Once prey has been contacted, the hood closes and the rows of cirri interlock to prevent escape. The hood is compressed further, pushing excess water out and forcing the prey towards the mouth. So basically, they vacuum their prey up with their giant mouths. Biologists call it the "tilt and squeeze" method of feeding. Check it out!
If you're the kind of person that like to smell sea creatures (guilty), you'll find out that the hooded nudibranch smells just like watermelon.
Locked in a deadly feud for centuries, their mortal enemy is the kelp crab.
The technical term for multiple nudibranchs is a "bouquet".
Bonus Nudies:
Let’s get nudie,
Mike
Director of Sea Creatures