Nudibranch, My New Favorite Sea Creature
These images are Nudibranch. Nudibranchs, or as they are commonly called, sea slugs, are small, soft-bodied gastropod mollusks that come in a diverse range of colors, shapes, and sizes and are fascinating creatures. Nudibranch comes from the Latin nidus, “naked,” and the Greek bránkhia, “gills,” because they wear their gills outside their bodies. In some of the pictures captured, you will see a feathery appendage, their gills.
Another fascinating thing about some Nudibranchs is that while they don’t produce stinging cells like a jellyfish, they feed on hydrozoids containing stinging cells. When they eat these stinging cells, they can absorb and use them like the Highlander taking power from his fallen enemies.
These images were taken during dives off the coasts of the Hawaiian islands of Maui and Lanai. I take great pride in my pictures, and these pushed the limits of my underwater camera rig. I was shooting with a Sony a6400 (Amazon | Adorama), which is more than capable of taking fantastic images of Nudibranch, I was using a 16mm (Amazon | Adorama) lens with a fisheye adapter (Amazon | Adorama). That means that even though I had the camera housing almost touching these creatures, I had to crop the images significantly. These creatures are much better suited for a macro lens, which is next on my wish list before my next dive trip.
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