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Home › Sea Life › Marine › Invertebrates › Mollusks › Nudibranchs › Dusky Nembrotha

Interesting Facts about the Variable Neon Slug

[Phylum: Mollusca] [Class: Gastropoda] [Order: Nudibranchia] [Family: Polyceridae]

One of the most beautiful of all dorid nudibranchs is actually a very dangerous creature because it uses a form of chemical warfare for survival in reef ecosystems.

This page contains fun and interesting information about Nembrotha kubaryana, a colourful sea slug also known by its common names of the dusky nembrotha and the variable neon slug.

Dusky Nembrotha Habitats and Distribution

This particular nudibranch species prefers living in warm tropical water.

Hence, the best place to find them are the western regions of the Indo-Pacific and parts of the Indian Ocean, but especially in:

• Australia (GBR and some northern coastlines)
• Indonesia (e.g. dive sites in Bali)
• Malaysia
• Papua New Guinea (including the Marshall Islands)
• The Philippine Islands (e.g. Anilao)

These squishy bottom-dwelling marine gastropod mollusks inhabit many of the world's shallow ecosystems. They are benthic animals that secure habitats at various depths of intertidal zones.

As a consequence of that, most of these marine invertebrate animals spend their life slithering along the seabed and over the surfaces of rocky outcrops.

Nembrotha Kubaryana Characteristics

Almost all of the sea slug species display some vivid colouration. Yet, the stunning combinations of orange, green, and black with a red-orange border on its head and muscular foot function as the "warning" colours for the variable neon slug.

How?

In fact, the creature uses its colours to signal its toxicity. Most of the genus feed on sea squirt tunicates (scientific name ascidians) and are able to absorb their toxins.

Thus, not only does this mean the dusky nembrotha is unpalatable to most of its predators, it can also release a cloud of slimy acidic mucus if it feels threatened.

Pro Tip: It is rare for Nembrotha kubaryana to grow more than twelve (12) centimetres long (5 inches). Even so, scuba divers often mistake it with the features and characteristics of the crested nembrotha (Nembrotha cristata) because they can both have raised green stripes or nodules.

What Does Nembrotha Kubaryana Eat?

A range of noxious and sessile ascidians (of the sea squirt phylum) form the main diet for the dusky nembrotha. In particular, they tend to favour the toxic compounds found in the soft-bodied gelatinous variety known as the Clavelina genus.

Nonetheless, many other nudibranchs get their daily nutrients from other sources of food, including:

• Anemones (Actiniaria)
• Bryozoa (filter feeding invertebrates)
• Hydroids
• Other sea slugs (they are cannibalistic creatures)
• Sea sponge (Metazoans)

How Do Nudibranchs Reproduce?

In fact, nudibranchs are simultaneous hermaphrodites which means 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.

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