Nudibranchs
3,000 species of nudibranchs are found in the world's oceans, from the Caribbean to the Arctic. Also known as sea slugs, they are brightly colored to warn potential predators of their foul taste, and possibly even toxic flesh, and posses frilly, external gills to filter oxygen from seawater.
Encounters:
Nudibranchs come in all shapes, sizes
and are frequently found grazing rocks, sponges, and corals along the sea bottom. With delicate bodies, nudibranchs shouldn't be handled as they are easily injured. Muck diving is a good way to see nudibranchs, as well as diving in Monterey Bay California, where many species live in the cold Pacific waters where two major currents merge.
See nudibranches in most all of ZeroBar.org destinations.
Scientific name:
Hypselodoris
Diet:
algae, bryozoans, sponges, corals and even other nudibranchs
Facts:
though all nudibranchs are hermaphrodites, they will rarely fertilize themselves;
due to their short lifespan, little is known about their lives;
the warmer the water, the faster eggs develop: sometime between 5 and 50 days;
can swim briefly to escape prey by contracting body muscles and undulating through the water;
most nudibranchs posses rows of teeth, 
called radula, that are specifically adapted to their prey
Research and Conservation Agencies:
Slug Site http://slugsite.tierranet.com/
Sea Slug Forum http://www.seaslugforum.net/
Top photo credit: Dylan Ong
Other nudis: Kelly O'Connell
