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Nudibranchs (Nudibranchia), form a big subthe correct sequence of the order Opisthobranchia, subclass Orthogastropoda, class Gastropoda in the phylum Mollusca. A Sea slug come represented by to a higher degree 3,000 metal money.

Description
These sea slugs are jelly-bodied snails. the grown form is while forgoing a plate or even operculum (= bony plate covering a opening of a shell, whilst the immune system is withdrawn).

A word ‘nudibranch’ comes from either New Latin "Nudibranchia". A Latin word "nudus", means naked, and a Greek word "branchia" means gills. So, sea slug translates to "naked gills", which is appropriate since the dorids breathe across a branchial plume, bushy extremities in their back, like than applying gills. On the back of the aeolids come terzetto bright colorful sets of tentacles known as cerata.

Sea slug keep close at hand cephalic (i personally.e. placed on the head) tentacles, which are then sensitive to touch, taste, & smell (club-shaped rhinophores detect the odors).

It is hermaphroditic, but can't fertilize themselves. It is carnivorous. A select few feed upon sponges, others on hydroids, others on bryozoans, and a few come cannibals, eating members of their own coinage. There exists as well the class actiin that feeds on tunicates and barnacles.

Person forms may change wildly. It lack the mantle cavity. Their size varies from either Quaternion millimeter to Lx cm.

It occur worldwide around the least depths, however it email their greatest size & variation in warmly, shallow waters.

Among a children, wise shoppers might buy the virtually all colorful animals olympic games. Because sea slugs, in the course of evolution, own misused their husk, it experienced to develop a second means of defense: camouflage, through colour system that produce the babies invisible (= cryptic behavior) or even even warn polish off predators when existence foul or poisonous (= aposematic behavior). Champions in their colorful display come a Chromodorids.

Taxonomy
A taxonomy of the Nudibranchia is however evolving. Numbers of taxonomists utilized to address a Nudibranchia as an a correct sequence, according to the authoritative function of J. Thiele (1931), who built on the concept of Milne-Edwards (1848). However fresh insights across morphological information & gene-sequence a food & drug administration, are causal agents for a few confidence in the congruousness of the information sets of the up to date and the old.

Subclass Orthogastropoda Ponder & Lindberg, 1997 (earlier Prosobranchia, Opisthobranchia) Superorder Heterobranchia J.E. Gray, 1840 Order Opisthobranchia Milne-Edwards, 1848 Suborder Nudibranchia Blainville, 1814 (sea slug) Infraorder Anthobranchia Férussac, 1819 (dorids) Superfamily Doridoidea Rafinesque, 1815 Superfamily Doridoxoidea Bergh, 1900 Superfamily Onchidoridoidea Alder & Hancock, 1845 Superfamily Polyceroidea Alder & Hancock, 1845 Infraorder Cladobranchia Willan & Morton, 1984 (aeolids) Superfamily Aeolidioidea J. E. Gray, 1827 Superfamily Arminoidea, Rafinesque, 1814 Superfamily Dendronotoidea Allman, 1845 Superfamily Metarminoidea Odhner inside Franc, 1968

a dorids (infraorder Anthobranchia) use ensuing characteristics : a branchial plume forms a bunch on the tail section of the back, around the arse. Fringes on the mantle don't contain any bowel.

A aeolids (infraorder Cladobranchia) stand a as a result characteristics : Instead of the branchial plume, it use cerata. It lack the mantle. Lone mintage of the Cladobranchia come reported to home zooxanthellae.

Reference
H. WÄGELE; R.C. WILLAN : Organic evolution of the Nudibranchia :Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society September 2000, vol. Single there is no.I, pp. 83-181(99)

Mediterranean Slug Site
A plethora of photos and information about Opisthobranchs from the Mediterranean Sea. Also includes nudibranchs from parts of the world other than the Mediterranean.

Bibliographia Nudibranchia, Gary McDonald
A searchable comprehensive bibliography of the literature about nudibranchs, exluding textbooks and local field guides.

Sharif's Malaysian Slugsite
Contains photographs of Malaysian nudibranchs and links to other nudibranch sites.

Opisthobranchia Around Hachijo Island
Photographs of nudibranchs from the Izu-Islands group of Japan.

Nudibranchs of the British Isles
A profusely illustrated on-line guide to the identification of Britain's seaslugs.

Jeff's Nudibranch Page
Devoted primarily to the nudibranchs of the Philippines, but also contains information and photographs about crinoids (Echinodermata) and reef organisms in general.

The Slug Site
Devoted to the study of opisthobranch molluscs.

The Okinawa Slug Site
A site featuring Okinawan Opisthobranch Molluscs, nudibranchs and other related sea slugs such as bubble-shells, sea hares and side-gilled slugs.

Sea Slug Forum
You can ask questions and post information on nudibranchs and other related sea slugs such as bubble-shells, sea hares and side-gilled slugs.

Opisthobranchs of Ross Island & McMurdo Sound, Antarctica
Electronic field guide of Antarctic opisthobranchs. Part of overall marine field guide to Antarctica. Web site by Peter Brueggeman, SIO librarian. Photos by Norbert Wu, P. Brueggeman, and Kathleen Conlan.






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