Title photo by Michaels Bubbles

Cyerce nigra is well-known for its cerata that resemble overlapping leaves or a ruffled ball gown.

It is found in the Central Pacific, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, and grows to 15mm to 30mm in size

Above photo by The Three P Beach Resort Romblon

Above photo by elebe.foto

The dorsal surface features alternating black and white/yellow stripes.....

Above photo by Ludovic

.......while the ventral surface has orange or yellow spots on a black background.

Above photo by rob jeff

Both sides have an orange or yellow edge with two faint black and white lines.

Above photo by Rickard Zerpe

Above photo by touchement

On its head are forked receptors that are hollow halfway through and have the same striking colors, but with a different pattern.

Above photo by Ludovic

Above photo by Patrick Ess

[It]....lives on [the] sandy bottom, on algae fields in shallow water or seldom on coral fields...

Above photo by AGNIESZKA ADAMCZYK

...[It] feeds on algae genus Udotea, especially on Udotea geppiorum

Above photo by joycelynchang

Info from here and here

edit, forgot to add location and size!

2nd edit- forgot to add a link!

Title photo by Johnny Chiou

This nudibranch, photographed at the top of a reef, looks like it's about to take off in flight.

Location: Kenting,Taiwan

Above photo by Marchione Giacomo

An emperor shrimp shows off his symbiotic swagger by taking a ride on the back of this regal-looking nudibranch.

Location: Lembeh Strait, Indonesia

Above photo by Francis Perez

This is a Glaucus atlanticus nudibranch who moves with the current and eat false jellyfish, Physalia physalis

Location: Tenerife, Canary Islands

Above photo by Maurizio Pasi

Photograph of a vibrant nudibranch caring over its ribbon of eggs.

Location: Capo Noli, Italy

Above photo by Lynn Wu

This tiny little nudibranch (Costasiella sp.) looks so cute. White head and black rhinophores; cerata green with reddish tips. It looks like a sheep stopped eating grass.

Location: Bali, Indonesia

Above photo by Martin Klein

A beautiful nudibranch posing for the camera.

Location: Lembeh, Indonesia

Above photo by Irwin Ang

Location: Anilao, Philippines

Above photo by Filip Staes

This Nembrotha nudibranch was searching for food inside a tunicate vase.

Location: Lembeh/Sulawesi, Indonesia

Above photo by Jett Britnell

An Opalescent Nudibranch, sometimes called a Flame Tip nudibranch, laying a ribbon of eggs.

Location: Browning Passage, British Columbia, Canada

Above photo by Lynn Wu

This Chamberlain's Nembrotha nudibranch looks like a bull getting ready to charge at the photographer.

Location: Anilao, Philippines

Above photo by Tom Radio

Nudibranch species: Hermissenda crassicornis

Location: Puget Sound, WA, United States

All images and info from here

Main photo by David Borg

The pilgrim hervia is an aeolid sea slug, its average size is between 3 and 5 cm. The body is thin and slender, with a long sharply pointed tail

Above, photo by Antonio Martin

The orange horns are called rhinophores, and act as their nose—nudibranchs in general have poor eyesight, and instead use their rhinophores to "smell" their food. Their rhinophores are smooth, begin in white, changing to orange with white tips. The tusks are called oral tentacles, and are used to shovel food into their mouths. The tentacles are white, smooth, and usually a fair bit longer than the rhinophores. The mouth opening sits between and slightly below these tenacles.

The orange patch between marks where the eyes are, but I'm yet to read that the colour has anything to do with its vision. source

Above, photo by jordi benitez

Its body coloration is milky white with 8 to 10 clusters of dorsal cerata which can be bright red, purple, brown or blue, with the tips coloured in luminescent blue. [Cerata- are dorsal and lateral horn-like growths on it's upper body]

Those cerata act like gills, and each one contains a terminal outgrowth of the digestive gland, a diverticulum. (An outgrowth of the digestive gland or hepatopancreas of the animal)

Above, photo by Mario Pesce

This species occurs in the Mediterranean Sea and in the eastern Atlantic Ocean from the Channel south to Senegal. This sea slug prefers to live on rocky bottoms and slopes in clear and well-oxygenated water, between 5 and 50m in depth

The pilgrim hervia feeds on hydroids (small predators related to jellyfish)...

These look a bit like spindly underwater branches source

Above, photo by Bart

In recent years, C. peregrina has been the subject of study in "kleptopredation". This is eating food not for just its own nutrients, but for the nutrients of what the food itself consumes! In short, it was found that C. peregrina prefer consuming hydroids that have recently fed themselves (hydroids are predators too) source

Above, Cratena peregrina nudis laying eggs, Greek Aegean. Photo by Ivan Bakardjiev

Info from wikipedia, unless stated otherwise

Title photo by Carlos Fernandez-Cid

While I was reading up on information for a nudibranch post, I was surprised to learn that they are also found in UK waters. And also on occasion, we sometimes have exotic visitors like Babakina anadoni if we're lucky....

Usually, they are to be found in

....warm Atlantic waters including off the west coast of Spain, the Canary Islands and the coastlines of Portugal and rarely southern France. It is also known from the eastern Atlantic in The Bahamas, as well as the French Caribbean and the coast of Brazil

In 2022 (possibly a result of global warming) one was found much further North than it's usual range, off the Isles of Scilly, UK. It was found by Allen Murray, a volunteer diver taking part in the Wildlife Trusts Seasearch initiative where people are asked to record wildlife found during their scuba dives Source

The following year another was found even further North in a rock pool at Falmouth, Cornwall, Mainland UK!

Photo by Carlos Fernandez-Cid of B. anadoni eating Candelabrum cocksii. Cabo Udra. Ría de Pontevedra

It grows to be around 20mm long, and the ground colour of it's body is purple

[The] chemosensory organs (rhinophores) and other structures covering the surface of the body (cerata) are contrasting shades of purple as well as different colours including blue, white, yellow and pink

Photo by Carlos Fernandez-Cid

It was only described in 1979, and it was named in honour of Emilio Anadón Frutos (1917-1997)

....who was a professor of zoology and marine biology at the University of Oviedo, Spain

Photo by Carlos Fernandez-Cid

Personally, I think they look like one of those large foamy, pink shrimp sweets, with candy corn growing out of it....

Info from wikipedia unless stated otherwise

Title photo- 'A Goniobranchus kuniei nudibranch in the waters of Komodo National Park, Indonesia. Image credit: Òscar Montferrer'

I came across this article while looking for some info to answer a comment, and thought the photos were too good not to share. The article is interesting too!

Above 'A Goniobranchus geminus nudibranch in the waters of Tulamben, Bali, Indonesia. Image credit: Òscar Montferrer'

Above 'A Doto greenyamieri nudibranch in the waters of Amed, Bali, Indonesia. Image credit: Òscar Montferrer'

Above 'A Phyllodesmium iriomotense nudibranch in the waters of Amed, Bali, Indonesia. Image credit: Òscar Montferrer'

Above 'A Cyerce kikutarobabai nudibranch in the waters of Amed, Bali, Indonesia. Image credit: Òscar Montferrer'

Any errors will be mine, I couldn't do my usual copy/paste and had to type all the names and locations myself

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/13754178

Title photo 'Cuthona yamasui, Tulamben,bali,indonesia' by Yansu JunK

Nudibranch, meaning 'naked gills' are an order of marine gastropod of over 3000 species! They breathe through a ‘naked gill’ shaped into branchial plumes (simillar to the alveoli of a human lung) but external to their bodies

Above, 'Ocellated Phyllidia, Phyllidia ocellata, Alor, Indonesia' by Jeremy Smith

They are soft bodied, slug like creatures and are noted for their bright colours and extravagant body forms. Their nicknames reflect their fabulous forms- "clown", "marigold", "splendid", "dancer", "dragon", and "sea rabbit"

Above, 'Flabellina affinis' The Mediterranean by Verheyen Stefan

They are found worldwide including the Arctic and Antarctic, through temperate to Tropical sea waters (though some species can live in brackish waters) They can be found at all water depths from warm shallow reefs (where the greatest number of species are found) to depths of 700 metres. One species was discovered at a depth of 2500 metres!

Above, 'Nembrotha kubaryana). Lembeh, Indonesia' by Trent Burkholder

Species can vary in size from 4mm to 40cm long, and are oblong in shape. They can also be thick or flattened, long or short, ornately colored or drab to match their surroundings!

Above, 'Hermissenda crassicornis, Point Defiance Marina, Tacoma' by Zachary Hawn

Their eyes are small and simple, and can only discern differences in light and dark. Instead they have tentacles on their heads which act as sensory organs being sensitive to touch, taste and smell!

Above, 'Ceratosoma trilobatum, Indonesia, South Molucces - Ambon' by divemecressi

They are carnivorous predators, usually feeding on sea sponges, anemones, corals and barnacles, although some are cannibalistic!

They have evolved defense strategies to protect them from being eaten, including camouflage to look like sea sponges, chemical defenses complete with warnings. Some species eat hydrozoids (a relation of jellyfish) and then store the stinging cells that pass undigested through their gut to their rear end...any predator trying to bite one of these nudibranchs will end up with a painful sting!

Above, 'Phideana hiltoni' by Ken Bondy

They are hermaphrodites (both male and female) and their sex organs are on the right side of their bodies. They still need to reproduce sexually though. When they meet a suitable partner they will engaged in a 'courtship dance' lasting for a few minutes. They then lay eggs in a long slimy ribbon, from as few as a couple to up to 25 million! source

Above, 'Consummation' by lee Ming

Above, 'Threesome having fun, Lamprohaminoea cymbalum, Tulamben Bali' by Ludovic

More nudibranchs to enjoy.....

Above photo by Jackson Wong

Above, 'Halgerda tessellata, Philippines - Malapascua' by divemecressi

Above photo by Carol Buchanan

Above photo by Barbara Stevens

Above photo by Joan Ribas

All info from here, here and here

As always, I'm not an expert I just like sharing fun things....any errors leave a comment, and I'll edit my post, cheers!

edit, link

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/13725497

Title photo- life reconstruction of Aysheaia pedunculata

Travel back in time to the Cambrian Era, a period famous for the diversity of its life forms!

Lasting approximately 53.4 million years from the end of the preceding Ediacaran period 538.8 million years ago (mya) to the beginning of the Ordovician period 485.4 mya. It is a period where the atmosphere had elevated concentrations of oxygen, and the global temperature increased-creating a temperate world

Geological timescale from here

Scientists believe that the higher oxygen levels, and warmer climate contributed to the incredible diversity of life that occurred in the oceans.

However, on land it was mostly barren...complex lifeforms were non-existant and would have been restricted to mollusks and athropods emerging from the water to feed on micobes in slimy biofilms

The Cambrian is unique as it had unusually high deposits of lagerstätte sedimentary deposits, these sites offer exceptional preservation of 'soft' organism parts, as well as their harder shells which means that the study and understanding of the fossilized life forms surpasses some of later periods

Which brings us to Aysheaia!

It is an extinct genus of soft-bodied lobopodian, known from the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale of British Columbia, Canada source

Described as looking like a 'bloated caterpillar' with spines. It was a segmented worm like animal 1 to 6 cm in length and about 5 mm wide

Comprised of 10 body segments with each segment having a pair of spiked annulate legs (consisting of rings or ringlike segments). It did not have a separate head, its mouth occupied the front of the body along with 6 finger like projections, and 2 grasping limbs on it's 'head'.

Diagrammatic reconstruction of Aysheaia pedunculata

Reconstruction of A. pedunculata

It was similar to modern terrestrial Onychophora (velvet worms). However, it differs due to a lack of jaws and antennae, and possible lack of visual organs, and the terminal mouth...

Above, Photo of Velvet Worm (Euperipatoides sp.) by Stephen Zozaya

Aysheaia is believed to have grazed on prehistoric sponges gripping onto them with it's many claws. The shape of it's mouth suggests that it was a predator. It probably used the paired structures on it's head to grasp hold of its prey, and then pass it to the finger like projections around its mouth

And now for some fossils!

Above, Lobopodian Aysheaia pedunculata Walcott, 1911, USNM 365608 from the Stephen Formation (Cambrian Series 3, Stage 5), British Columbia, Canada here

Above, Aysheaia pedunculata (ROM 61108). Complete specimen preserved laterally showing limbs and gut trace. Specimen length = 20 mm here

Above, Aysheaia, a worm-like animal with annulated legs, from the Burgess Shale, Canada here

Also this really awesome diorama of life under the Cambrian sea

Above, Burgess Shale Biota (L-R) Aysheaia, annelid worms, Olenoides trilobite, Marrella here

Well I hope you enjoyed this post (hopefully the first of many) of ancient invertebrates, and as usual my disclaimer that I'm not an expert, I just like sharing fun things!

All information via wikipedia here and here, and not wikipedia from here and here

edit, formatting was a bit doolally

Just a shout out to anyone in the UK, I spotted 3 Hylamide serums at the discounter for around £7.99

Hylamide SubQ Anti-Age

Hylamide Sensitive Fix Booster

Hylamide Pore Control Booster

I snaffled some SubQ wooooo!

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/13688681

On the 9 June 2023, at Mala, Karkala, Karnataka, India, researchers found Rao’s intermediate golden-backed frog, (Hylarana intermedia) with a rather fetching, fungal companion growing out of it's side

Mycologists identified the fungi as Common Bonnet, part of the Mycena genus, a type of fungi that mostly grows on rotting wood from dead trees, however it has also been discovered to be able to thrive on living plants as well

The frog appeared to be quite healthy and was not caught, so there's no definitive answer why it was hosting a mushroom, however...

...one of the possibilities is that there is a small piece of woody debris under the skin of the frog after it got lodged in the skin and it has sprouted a mushroom from it....

All info from here and here

All photos by Lohit Y.T. one of the researchers who discovered the frog and co-author of the paper

On the 9 June 2023, at Mala, Karkala, Karnataka, India, researchers found Rao’s intermediate golden-backed frog, (Hylarana intermedia) with a rather fetching, fungal companion growing out of it's side

Mycologists identified the fungi as Common Bonnet, part of the Mycena genus, a type of fungi that mostly grows on rotting wood from dead trees, however it has also been discovered to be able to thrive on living plants as well

The frog appeared to be quite healthy and was not caught, so there's no definitive answer why it was hosting a mushroom, however...

...one of the possibilities is that there is a small piece of woody debris under the skin of the frog after it got lodged in the skin and it has sprouted a mushroom from it....

All info from here and here

All photos by Lohit Y.T. one of the researchers who discovered the frog and co-author of the paper

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/13641832

Title photo by LS Perks

Native to Australia (where else?) it can also be found as an invasive species in New Zealand. It feeds on Eucalyptus species and can become problematic, striping the leaves and damaging the trees hence it's actual name The Gum Leaf Skeletoniser

As the caterpillar grows it sheds it's exoskeleton, during each molt the head portion of the previous exoskeleton stays attached to it's body resulting in a mini tower of empty heads

“The molted head capsules start stacking early but they are not always visible, as the smaller ones get dislodged over time,” Hochuli said. “It’s not uncommon to see caterpillars with at least five old heads stacked on top of the one they are currently using.” Source

The heads can reach up to 12mm tall, and look rather dandy!

Photo by Alan Henderson/Minibeast Wildlife

The several reasons for this, one is to look bigger and more intimidating to predators, another is to create a false target for a predator, and another is that the caterpillar uses the head piece as a weapon or shield to fend off insects with needle like mouth parts such as Assassin Bugs

....researchers removed the head stacks from some caterpillars, left them on others, and kept tabs on their survival once they were back in the field. Caterpillars who kept their extra heads were much more likely to survive in the field....Source

Photo by John Tann

Unfortunately for The Mad Hatterpillar it's list of predators is long and relentless.... it has also evolved stinging hairs to complement it's head gear, and will writhe around to evade being grabbed, and if that isn't enough it will vomit out it's guts....

“They’ll just spew out a whole bit of yucky green liquid that probably smells and tastes awful,” Henderson said. “And if they shove that in the face of the predator, it can turn them off.” Source

Photo by Betty AN

Once the Mad Hatterpillar is finished eating all the Eucalyptus it can, it pupates into a small brown, unremarkable moth with markings that help it camouflage on the trunks of it's food source

Photo by Victor Fazio

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/13639864

https://mander.xyz/c/invertebrates

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Sphaerotheriida, Karnataka, India, photo by vipin.baliga