Being part of the rich Coral Triangle is what makes the Philippines an excellent, world-class diving destination. Philippines is famous for its never ending variety of the little beautiful nudibranch. Working for Quo Vadis Dive Resort we see these wonders of the ocean every day.
Did you know…
- Nudibranchs, once like snails lost their shells over countless years of evolution. Today you can find many different chemical defenses among them; some can store cells within their body capable of stinging. Others can secrete acid which they release when danger presents itself. Though there is currently only one known species of nudibranch that can be harmful to humans as it eats the infamous “Portuguese man-of-war” jellyfish.
Chromodoris annea. Photo Credit: Yannick Van Meirhaege. Moalboal
- Nudibranchs are commonly referred to as sea slugs. Although this is true, not all sea slugs are nudibranchs.
- Nudibranchs obtain their stunning colors as a result of the colorful food they eat. Due to each species being extremely picky eaters they will generally only consume one type of food leading to a plethora of color variations over the 3000+ species.
- Some nudibranchs such as the “blue dragon” are capable of creating their own food through photosynthesis.
- Following the Darwinian principle of natural selection or “survival of the fittest” some nudibranchs are known to be cannibalistic, generally eating the smaller of its species.
Chromodoris Willani. Moalboal
- Generally they have very short life spans. Some may live up to a year, other merely a few weeks.
- Nudibranchs are hermaphrodites meaning they are both male and female simultaneously, possessing sexual organs of each gender.
If you want to take a closer look at nudibranchs check out our Instagram @Quovadisdiveresort.
Photo credit Yannick Van Meirhaghe. Phyllidia Ocellata. Moalboal
