The name Nudibranch comes from a Latin/Greek compound word that means "naked

gill". They are members of the sea slug family and you can see  the feathery, exposed

gills. These are some of the most brightly colored creatures in the sea, but the color is

there as a warning. Most nudibranchs feed on prey that's toxic to other animals and

store the poisons in their bodies as defense. The bright colors advertise their

unpalatability.  Most of these are 1-2 inches in size, the two largest are the bright

yellow Notodoris and the giant (by nudibranch standards) Phyllodesmium which are

both five inches or more. The Phyllodesmium uses sunlight to grow algae (a micro

plant) in its body as an additional food source, they show as brownish spots. Hard

corals and giant clams also supplement their food sources with an internal algae

garden.

I have only shown the main family name for these. There are few "common" names

for the thousands of known nudibranchs and dense, impenetrable Latin nomenclature

is for the taxonomists, not me.

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