This is a hooded nudibranch (Melibe leonina)… a predatory sea slug that ‘swims’ more often than it crawls. The front end (on the right) has rounded sensory organs called rhinophores that look a bit like elephant ears. In the other picture you can see the head has a big mouth and that can expand to capture all sorts of little critters. The branching structures are ramifications of the digestive system (hepatic diverticula).
Melibe leonina photo by Ryan Murphy
View other underwater images at Ryan’s Flickr site.
Melibe leonina photo by Ryan Murphy
Domain : Eukarya
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Opisthobranchia
Order: Nudibranchia
Superfamily: Tritoniodea
Family: Tethydidae
Genus: Melibe
Species: leonina Gould, 1852
Common Name: Hooded Nudibranch
 Return to the Race Rocks Taxonomy and Image File |
 The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams. Ryan Murphy |