Description
Also known as Blue Doris, Blue Velvet Headshield Slug, Blue Velvet Sea Slug, Blue Velvet Slug, Blue-lined Sandflat Slug, Blue-lined Slug, Hammerhead Sea Slug, Hammerhead Slug, Tailed Slug, Velvet Headsheild Slug, Velvet Sea Slug.
Found singly or in pairs, over shallow waters, amongst rubble and sandy areas, of coral and rocky reefs.
They feed on flatworms.
Length - 3cm
Depth - 2-20m
Widespread Indo-West Pacific
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/showall/chelvar
1 comment
Posted by Robert NordsieckHi there, this is not a nudibranch, but a cephalaspidean, only distantly related to nudibranchs. Kind regards Robert