Know Your Neighbours: Molluscan Nudes

LINED CHITON Tonicella lineata (lined ?) These little beauties are quite common intertidally and reach 5cm of colorful zigzags and stripes. Look for their wild pinks and lavenders in the rosy encrusting algae they feed on

GIANT PACIFIC CHITON Cryptochiton stelleri (stellar's hidden chiton) This big chiton doesn't hide but its plates do, as all eight of them are completely covered by its tough reddish mantle. Kayakers will spot the world's biggest chiton (to 35cm) above or just below the tide on rocky shores. It is of ten misidentified- at least one field guide likens it to "wandering meatloaf".

CLOWN NUDIBRANCH Triopha catalinae (catalina sea nymph) A spectacular little nude, you're sure to spot one if you paddle past because it's white with gaudy orange tips. They reach about 7cm and can be found on rocky shores. I've even seen them hanging from rock walls at low tide.

HOODED NUDIBRANCH Melibe leonina (lion ?) Hooded nudibranchs are truly bizarre. Unlike their grazing relatives, they use a large oral hood to trap drifting crustaceans. They can "swim", and their large (to lOcm), translucent green bodies might just go drifting past your boat, especially in kelp beds or bays with eelgrass. Use a clear water bottle to gently scoop one up. A close-up view of this critter will convince you that aliens are among us.

HORNED OPALESCENT NUDIBRANCH Hermissenda crassicornis (thick horned ?) Opalescent nudibranchs are a dazzling bunch of unrelated species named for their beauty. Though it can be very common, Hermissenda is always stunning. Two white horns with a vivid orange stripe between them and bushy clusters of brightly tipped projections make it a close up photographer's dream. Unlike most nudibranchs, it's not picky about what it eats and can be found roaming around on eelgrass, rock, docks and kelp beds.

GIANT NUDIBRANCH Dendronotus iris (tree back, colorful) Reaching 30cm, this is a big nude. It's also an interesting one. If disturbed it will "swim", undulating its body to rise up into the current. It roams soft bottoms and attacks those big tube dwelling anemones you often see below your boat, so watch for them on calm, clear days in shallow bays.

SEA LEMON NUDIBRANCHS Various Dorids (Doris was a sea goddess) Big (to at least 20cm), yellow nudibranchs usually get called sea lemons. The typical dorid shape is oval, with two hornlike projections at one end and a tuft of gills at the other. They are usually sprinkled with black dots on their bumpy surfaces. They can be common on floats and rocky shores where they eat sponges.

FROSTED NUDIBRANCH Dirona albolineata (dreaded, white lined) This little nudibranch is one of my favorites- big, sail like projections with bright white lines make it y easy to recognize. Usually whitish and just a few centimeters, it occasionally grows up to 18cm and rare forms are pink or purplish. It's often roaming along rocky shores and can reportedly crack and kill small snails.

OPALESCENT SQUID Loligo opalescens (opalescent squid) Unfortunately squid sightings are rare. They seldom venture into shallow water in the daylight. Pity, because these streamlined, 15cm molluscs are fascinating. Us kayakers usually spot them at night, when dock lights reveal entire schools of them. Speedy predators with big eyes, they are vital to many ocean food chains.

GIANT PACIFIC OCTOPUS Octopus dofleini (dof's eight armed) Kayakers usually spot the world's largest octopus in tidepools, where juveniles wait out the low tide. Big adults could rise up and touch both ends of your kayak at the same time. How cool would that be? Though fairly common, our octopus is shy and difficult to spot. They can change their color and even skin texture in seconds, so unless one is moving around, you will likely look right past it. Tiny octopus larvae and juveniles will drift or swim and can be spotted from your cockpit.

Pacific Coast Nudibranchs

1991 by David W Behrens
ISBN 0-930118-17-0
color photography, 107 pages, approx $20 /Sea Challengers

If you wonder how anyone can consider sea slugs the most beautiful creatures of all, be sure to track this book down. A second edition, it has beautiful color photos of every species of nudibranch on our coast.

Though not as simple to use as the best field guides, each picture is accompanied by a scientific name (a few don't even have these), a common name when there is one (rarely), and tidbits on identification, size and range. More ecological information would be welcome but it simply doesn't exist yet. Since these are non-commercial species, very little is known about them.

Introductory sections cover basic slug biology and there is a very helpful pictorial glossary. But the bulk of the book (and the reason you'll want it) is the unadulterated nudibranch porn. I'm talkie' glossy, full color close-ups of these beautiful molluscs.

Pacific Coast Nudibranchs : A Guide to the Opisthobranchs Alaska to Baja California  can be bought at Amazon.com
Pacific Coast Nudibranchs:A Guide to the Opisthobranchs Alaska to Baja California   can be bought at Chapters.ca (Canadian site and Canadian dollars)