Nembrotha cristata is a species of colourful sea slug, a polycerid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Polyceridae.Bouchet, P. (2015). Nembrotha cristata Bergh, 1877. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2015-09-06 This species of sea slug is black with green markings; adults are around 50 mm long, and they live on rock or coral reefs in the tropical Indo-West Pacific Ocean.
Description Nembrotha cristata is a large black nembrothine ("nembrothid" in much of the literature) growing to at least 50 mm long. Its body is covered with raised green nodules. The rhinophores and gills are black-edged in green. Other than the difference in colour, this species is similar in appearance to Nembrotha yonowae.
Distribution This nudibranch species was described from the Philippines. It occurs in the tropical Indo-West Pacific Ocean.Rudman, W.B., 1999 (January 21) Nembrotha cristata Bergh, 1877. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. It lives at depths between three and twenty metres. These sea slugs live on coral or rock reefs and have a lifespan of up to a year.
Behaviour The bright colours of this nudibranch species are an aposematic warning to predators. These sea slugs eat compound tunicates. Like all opisthobranchs, they are hermaphrodites.
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Photographs at Sea Slugs of the Mediterranean Sea and Elsewhere Video - Taken in Bali, Indonesia