For the missile of the same name, see Seaslug (missile).
Not to be confused with sea cucumber or sea snail.
The nudibranch Nembrotha aurea is a gastropod.A sea cucumber also looks slug-like and is sometimes loosely called a "sea slug", but it is not a gastropod.
Sea slug is a common name for some marine invertebrates with varying levels of resemblance to terrestrial slugs. Most creatures known as sea slugs are gastropods, i.e. they are sea snails (marine gastropod mollusks) that, over evolutionary time, have either entirely lost their shells or have seemingly lost their shells due to having a significantly reduced or internal shell.[1] The name "sea slug" is often applied to nudibranchs and a paraphyletic set of other marine gastropods without apparent shells.[2]
Sea slugs have an enormous variation in body shape, color, and size. Most are partially translucent. The often bright colors of reef-dwelling species imply that these animals are under constant threat of predators. Still, the color can warn other animals of the sea slug's toxic stinging cells (nematocysts) or offensive taste. Like all gastropods, they have small, razor-sharp teeth called radulas. Most sea slugs have a pair of rhinophores—sensory tentacles used primarily for the sense of smell—on their head, with a small eye at the base of each rhinophore. Many have feathery structures (cerata) on the back, often in a contrasting color, which act as gills. All species of genuine sea slugs have a selected prey animal on which they depend for food, including certain jellyfish, bryozoans, sea anemones, plankton, and other species of sea slugs.[3][4]
Sea slugs have brains. For example, Aplysia californica has a brain of about 20,000 nerve cells.[5]
^Yonow, Nathalie (2015), Rasul, Najeeb M.A.; Stewart, Ian C.F. (eds.), "Sea Slugs: Unexpected Biodiversity and Distribution", The Red Sea: The Formation, Morphology, Oceanography and Environment of a Young Ocean Basin, Springer Earth System Sciences, Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer, pp. 531–550, doi:10.1007/978-3-662-45201-1_30, ISBN 978-3-662-45201-1, retrieved 2024-02-09
^Thompson, T. E. 1976. Biology of opisthobranch molluscs, vol. 1, 207 pp., 21 pls. Ray Society, no. 151.
^Byatt, Andrew; Fothergill, Alastair; Holmes, Martha (2002). The Blue Planet: A Natural History of the Oceans. BBC. DK. ISBN 978-0-7894-8265-5.
^"Sea Slug". encyclopedia.com. Oxford University Press. 18 May 2018.
^Choi, Charles Q. (29 December 2006). "Human, Sea Slug Brains Share Genes for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's". Scientific American.
Seaslug is a common name for some marine invertebrates with varying levels of resemblance to terrestrial slugs. Most creatures known as seaslugs are...
very reduced shell, or only a small internal shell, particularly seaslugs and semi-slugs (this is in contrast to the common name snail, which applies to...
Costasiella kuroshimae—also known as a "leaf slug", or "leaf sheep"—is a species of sacoglossan seaslug. Costasiella kuroshimae are shell-less marine...
changes, however, varies between different species of seaslug. Some species of another group of seaslugs, nudibranchs such as Pteraeolidia ianthina, sequester...
Jorunna parva? (Baba, 1938). [In] SeaSlug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. M, Dr (2015-07-19). "The Science of Sea Bunnies: You'll Never Believe The...
known as the sacoglossans or the "solar-powered seaslugs", are a superorder of small seaslugs and sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks that belong to...
name the lettuce seaslug or lettuce slug, is a large and colorful species of seaslug, a marine gastropod mollusk. The lettuce slug resembles a nudibranch...
The California sea hare (Aplysia californica) is a species of seaslug in the sea hare family, Aplysiidae. It is found in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast...
vaccaria, also known as the black sea hare and California black sea hare, is a species of extremely large seaslug, a marine, opisthobranch, gastropod...
English term "seaslug" was originally applied to holothurians during the 18th century. The term is now applied to several groups of sea snails, marine...
casually called seaslugs, as they are a family of opisthobranchs (seaslugs), within the phylum Mollusca (molluscs), but many seaslugs belong to several...
with slugs, which are distinguished from snails primarily by the absence of a visible shell. Determining whether some gastropods should be called sea snails...
Sea angels (clade Gymnosomata) are a large group of small free-swimming seaslugs, not to be confused with Cnidarians (Jellyfish and other similar creatures)...
Rudman, W.B.; Firminger, P.I., eds. (15 July 2010). "Aplysia vaccaria". The SeaSlug Forum (seaslugforum.net). New South Wales, AU: Australian Museum. Barnes...
dactylomela, the spotted sea hare, is a species of large seaslug, a marine opisthobranch gastropod in the family Aplysiidae, the sea hares. As traditionally...
very large and diverse, a group comprising sea snails and seaslugs, freshwater snails and land snails and slugs. Gastropods are second only to the class...
sponges. WoRMS World Registration of Marine Species SeaSlug Forum . Aegeris villosus on SeaSlug Forum Aegeris villosus on Nudi Pixel Photos of Aegires...
fasciata, common name the "mottled sea hare", or the "sooty sea hare", is an Atlantic species of sea hare or seaslug, a marine opisthobranch gastropod...
certain saturation level, beyond which the swimming rate declines. The seaslug Discodoris boholiensis also displays positive photokinesis; it is nocturnal...
completely buried in the sand. Its predator is the striped seaslug, Armina tigrina. The sea pansy is a collection of polyps with different forms and functions...
motor for the 'Red Duster' Bristol Ferranti Bloodhound for the RAF, the SeaSlug for the Royal Navy, and the Thunderbird for the British Army. All three...
coloured seaslug or nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Facelinidae. This species is commonly known as the "opalescent seaslug." This...
species of seaslug, a nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Tethydidae. This species occurs in the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, the Andaman...
(mostly) shell-less, saltwater gastropods, the common name for which is seaslugs (including nudibranchs, sacoglossans, etc) and bubble snails. Symposia...
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