Fact Friday
Nudibranchs, or sea slugs, are colorful little sea creatures. Their name literally means “naked gills” which refers to the feathery respiratory appendage you can see in the middle of this sea slug’s back. Many species of nudibranch are able to ingest food toxic to most other organisms and incorporate those toxins into their skin. Their bright colors warn that they are toxic.
Photo Credit: Annelise Hagan
January 3, 2025
Palolo
You know about mass spawning. Palola viridis is a great example – more than 90% of them breed during the same two-hour window in October. Prior to spawning, each worm modifies its posterior end until it is basically a sack of sperm and eggs. They also grow eyes in this region, so when their back end breaks off, they can find their way toward the surface.
Palolo Worm Life Cycle By Dakuhippo [CC-BY-NC-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0] 1 December 2011 via Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Paloloworm_cycle.jpg.
