Slender Sapsucking Slug
Thuridilla gracilis
Also known as: Bayer's Thuridilla, Glazed Thuridilla, Grace Thuridilla, Sacoglossan, Slender Sapsucking Slug
- Bayer's Thuridilla
- Glazed Thuridilla
- Grace Thuridilla
- Sacoglossan
- Slender Sapsucking Slug
Overview
Found singly or in pairs, amongst rubble and sandy areas, over intertidal shallow lagoons, reef slopes, and tops of coral reefs.
Opisthobranchia - Nudibranchs - Sea Slugs meaning "naked gills" are molluscs without a hard shell.
All opisthobranchs are hermaphrodites.
These beautiful slugs are usually brilliantly coloured and this in itself can act as a deterrent against predators. Some sea slugs secrete acid from stinging cells in their tentacles while others secrete acid from cells in their mantle.
Nudibranchs 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.
Nudibranch lay their eggs in a ribbon effect on the sand, in different colours depending on species.
How to identify
Habitat & where to find it
- Range · Western Pacific
- Country only · 1
Found singly or in pairs, amongst rubble and sandy areas, over intertidal shallow lagoons, reef slopes, and tops of coral reefs.
Adult photos 1
Discussion
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Deep dive
Taxonomy
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumMollusca
- classGastropoda
- familyPlakobranchidae
- genusThuridilla
- speciesThuridilla gracilis (Risbec, 1928)
SourcesWoRMSSea Slug Forum