Description

Also known as Blue Swallowtail Slug, Bubbletail Slug, Leech Aglaja, Leech Headshield Slug, Sperm Trading Sea Slug, Swallow Aglaja, Swallowtail Chelidonura, Swallowtail Headshield Slug, Tailed Slug.

Found singly or in pairs, over rock and sand substrates and in tidepools of coral and rocky reefs rich in vegetation.
They feed on flatworms.
Length - 3cm
Depth - 0-12m
Widespread Caribbean, Indo-West Pacific

Often referred to as 'Nudibranchs' (but they are not) Cephalaspidea or Head Shield Snails are of the Opisthobranchia group, some of which still have a shell. The head shield from which this group attain their name, is a broadened part of the head, used to dig into the sand and protect the snail.

All opisthobranchs are hermaphrodites.

These beautiful slugs are usually brilliantly coloured as a deterrent against opportunistic predators. Some sea slugs secrete acid from stinging cells in their tentacles while others secrete acid from cells in their mantle.
They are slow moving, can swim or be propelled along either by muscular contraction or by millions of tiny hairs on the bottom of a fleshy 'foot', they have a voracious appetite and feed with a rasp like tongue.
They lay their eggs in a ribbon effect on the sand, in different colours depending on species.
Their main predator are other Sea slugs. Ref: http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/chelhiru