Sea Slugs by Melissa

Sea Slugs by Melissa

    Would you ever think that a slug-like creature could be so beautiful? Probably not, but these creatures are, and they are called nudibranchs. Nudibranchs are slug-like fish creatures that live in the shallow, tropical waters of Australia. They actually get their beautiful coloring from what they eat! Amazing right? The toxins from some fish that the nudibranchs eat allows them to fend off predators if they try to eat them. They are able to do this by secreting the poison from their skin. Nudibranchs have curved teeth as well. This helps them eat coral, fish eggs, and sponges off the ocean floor. They are about 12 inches long and weigh up to 3.3 pounds.

    To be honest, I wish I could change as the color of something that I eat as well. If I could, I would eat a lot of cotton candy or something pretty like that. The real question is: Would you ever be a nudibranch if you could? I know I would. I also really want to see one in person! Maybe one day if I ever go to Australia, I could go snorkeling and see one! I also wonder if they can be in anymore places. I only read that they were in Australia.

    I really hope you enjoyed learning about the nudibranch. I learned a lot about them and I think they are so cool. This is a pretty good example of “don’t judge a book by its cover.” The reason I say that is because when you hear the name nudibranch and that it is a slug-like creature, you would probably think it looks disgusting. They look nothing like how you would describe them!