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Information about Hypselodoris Zephyra
[Phylum: Mollusca] [Class: Gastropoda] [Order: Nudibranchia] [Family: Chromodorididae]
Hypselodoris zephyra is one of the medium-sized colourful nudibranchs that belong to the Chromodorididae family of sea slugs.
This page explains where this eye-catching dorid nudibranch thrives best, what kind of food they eat, and how the reproduction process works.
Hypselodoris Zephyra Geographical Range
Like the vast majority of the nudibranch species, this colourful sea slug also flourishes better in warm water marine ecosystems.
Thus, the shallow regions of the central Indo-Pacific are the best places to find these shell-less marine gastropod mollusks, and especially:
- Australia (e.g. the Great Barrier Reef)
- Indonesia (especially Bali dive sites)
- Oceania (e.g. Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands)
- The Philippine Islands (e.g. Anilao, Palawan Island)
They live near shallow coral reef formations between five and thirty (30) metres deep. Their preferred ocean floor habitats are coral rubble (fragments of dead corals) where there's an abundance of demosponges, especially blue sea sponges (genus Dysidea).
Interesting Fact: The dark coloured striated lines that run over its upper dorsum means Hypselodoris zephyra is often confused with one of its closest relatives, the Hypselodoris nigrolineata.
Hypselodoris Zephyra Characteristics
For the most part, the nudibranch phylum is not one of uniform colouring. In fact, Hypselodoris zephyra has a pale body colouration with striated wavy dark lines that may vary in thickness and quantity.
The outer edge of the mantle usually contains a violet coloured margin, sometimes with a thin blue line, and their sensory organs (rhinophores) are mostly bright red - same as the gills.
Here's the thing:
Hypselodoris zephyra grows to four (4) centimetres in length (less than 2 inches). They use a broad, muscular foot to move around on the seabed, and often leave a slimy trail behind as they do so.
Most of the dorid nudibranch species are able to produce their own toxins and can also absorb them from most of their food sources.
What Do Sea Slugs Eat?
Nudibranchs are carnivorous and they get their impressive bright body colouring from the compounds in the food that they eat.
They eat using a radula with tiny teeth. They use it to scrape substrate and graze mostly on algae and sponges, especially Dysidea, Haliclona, and Psammocinia.
Nonetheless, their diet may also include a combination of:
- Anemones
- Bryozoa (filter feeding invertebrates)
- Coral polyps
- Barnacles
- Fish eggs
- Hydroids
- Other sea slugs
- Sea sponges
- Tunicates (sea squirts)
Fun Fact: After eating toxic sponges, Hypselodoris zephyra is able to accumulate chemical compounds in its tissues and use them as a defence mechanism, a process known as aposematism.
Nudibranch Reproduction
The fact that nudibranchs are simultaneous hermaphrodites means that they possess the reproductive sex organs of both male and female.
Being hermaphroditic means they can mate with any mature individual of the species. This is vital to maximise the mating activity, especially because they do not move far on the seabed.
Put another way, finding a mate is difficult and, in general, they are marine creatures that live a solitary lifestyle.
When mating, they can normally mate with any adult passing nearby. By laying a mass of spiral-shaped or coiled eggs, the young hatch as larvae swimming freely in the ocean. They will eventually come to rest on the ocean floor and live their adult life.
Interesting Fact: Sea slugs have become extremely important to the development of some medications. In fact, scientists are actively studying how the nudibranch nervous system works as part of further research.