On land, slugs are not generally celebrated for their beauty. Sea slugs, however, are regarded by many who know them as the jewels of the sea. They are also called nudibranchs because of their naked gills, which in this species are half way down the animal's back. The two rhinophores on the head are a common feature; also in land slugs and snails. Nudibranchs come in a variety of bright colours, their striking appearance serving as a warning to potential predators that they are poisonous to eat. I encountered this individual of the species Nembrotha megalocera (5 cms.) in the Egyptian Red Sea.

---

Size: 3916px × 2608px
Location: Near Hurghada, Egypt
Photo credit: © Terence Dormer / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No

Keywords: adventure, coral, creation, diving, egypt, gills, jewels, life, marine, megalocera, naked, natural, nembrotha, nudibranch, red, reef, rhinophores, scuba, sea, selection, slug, trd5143, underwater