At first glance, you would think you are staring at some hydroids or sponges. But what you are seeing is a transparent anatomy of a newly discovered nudibranch. It’s easy to see how such a unique slug avoided discovery until recently. The Melibe genus is unique in comprising of active predators versus the typical Nudibranch that feed on sessile inverts. Therefore, this transparent camouflage makes evolutionary sense.
Melibe colemani was first discovered by the late great underwater photographer, Neville Coleman. He passed away back in May of this year. He was an epic naturalist, underwater explorer, and an amazing photographer. While we as aquarists don’t usually specifically try to keep nudibranch unless we’re trying to get Berghia to graze some aiptasia but they really are cool marine animals. More details about the Nudi and its discoverer can be found here. A big thanks to Jim Walters for turning us on to this very cool sea slug.
